A New Normal
by Amelie Nockturne
Summary: Percy spends the summer with his distant relatives, the Fentons. Percy doesn't believe in ghosts, but the creepy town of Amity Park might change his mind. Danny knows something is different about Percy, but will he put his own secret at risk to find out?
1. Chapter 1

**I know, I really shouldn't be starting a new story. But sorry! I couldn't get this one out of my head so... I know it's kinda lame but whatever. Here goes. Percy is sixteen-turning-seventeen and Danny's sixteen. Phantom Planet didn't happen so only Sam, Tucker, and Jazz know Danny's secret. **

"We're doing WHAT?" I couldn't help but yell. Paul had a mix of determination and please-don't-kill-me terror on his face. My mom sighed and explained, again, exactly how they were going to ruin my summer.

"Paul has a big teaching conference in Illinois this summer, and I figured you could use a rest from, ah, your normal summer activities. I'm sure that now the Titan War is over, Chiron and Annabeth will be able to hold down the fort at Camp."

"Even Mr. Big-shot Hero of Olympus needs a break," Paul added. "Besides, we're staying with my cousin, Maddie, and her family. I believe they have a son about your age."

"You can finally have some normal, mortal friends!" Mom smiled. I sighed, knowing where this was headed. Standing up to the Titan Lord? No problem. Standing up to my mom? All Hades breaks loose.

"How long are we going to be there?" I conceded.

"We're leaving Tuesday and coming back two weeks before school starts. If you really want, you can still have your Camp friends over for your birthday. And it'll be nice to get out of the city. I've heard that Amity Park is on the Lake Michigan coast, you can go to the beach!"

"Yeah, whatever," I grumbled. "I'll go IM Chiron and tell him."

"I already did. Annabeth seemed a bit upset, but she said to IM her every night, you Seaweed Brain." My mom had a sparkle of humor in her eyes as she impersonated Annabeth almost perfectly. "Now go pack. I don't want to find you shoving all your stuff in a suitcase an hour before we leave." As I made my way back to my room, I grabbed the bottle of water I always kept on my desk specifically for this purpose. Guiding the water over to my window, rainbow colors shimmered as the sun shone through the water, and I used my free hand to dig a drachma out of my pocket and threw it into the newly-formed rainbow.

"O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show me Annabeth Chase... wherever she is." The water shimmered and slowly melded into a picture of Annabeth directing some nymphs who were lifting a golden statue of Aphrodite. She was on Olympus.

"Annabeth!" I shouted. She spun around, angry at first, but her scowl melted into a smile.

"Seaweed Brain! I heard about your trip."

"I know. I'm going to miss you."

"Me too. Does this mean I have to find a new date to the fireworks? If I have to go with Nico or Clovis I'm going to lock myself in the girls' bathroom," she joked. I laughed with her, but we both ended somberly. We'd been looking forward to the Camp fireworks for a long time.

"Yeah, good luck with that. I'll call you every night. I had to get an email for school so we can talk on that too."

"Where're you going anyway?"

"I don't really know, somewhere in Illinois. Not Chicago... like Charity Park or something? We're staying with Paul's cousin Maddie and her family."

"Wait, do you mean Amity Park? You're kidding!"

"Yeah, Amity Park. That sounds about right. What about it?"

"It's the most haunted town in the U.S! They get attacked by 'ghosts' like every day! You should totally find out something about it. Maybe get some pics of the ghosts for me?" She blinked her eyes flatteringly. Once a researcher, always a researcher.

"Annabeth, you can't seriously believe in that. Ghosts? Like Hades would ever let enough ghosts escape to terrorize a town like that."

"Okay, whatever you say. Seriously get me some pictures though! I want to make sure your trip was worth ditching us all for the summer! Gotta go- your dad's pool is infringing on my mom's library space."

"Oh no! The tragedy!" I mock gasped. "See you soon, Wise Girl."

"Bye, Percy." She waved her hand and killed the connection. I directed the water back into its bottle and sighed. I was definitely going to miss everyone this summer. But I thought about what Annabeth had said. Was I really going to be staying in a haunted town? I decided to risk going on the computer to Google it. I found tons of articles about different ghosts that had been spotted around the town, but no real pictures. There was one "ghost" in particular that kept popping up. The name Danny Phantom was everywhere. There were these famous ghost-hunters in the town, the Fentons, who were determined to erase Phantom from existence. I sighed, hoping the whole ghost thing was just a myth to attract people to the city. The last thing I needed was another set of magical beings in my life.

* * *

"Percy! What did I tell you on Thursday? This is exactly what I wanted to avoid." My mom watched scornfully as I shoved a bunch of T-shirts and shorts, sneakers and flip-flops (just to clarify: guy sandals, not the girly kind), swimsuits, my camera and some other stuff, and demigod tools (drachmas, ambrosia and nectar, you get the picture) into my Goode Swim Team duffel. "

"I'll be fine, Mom. I have everything I need, and it fits in the duffel. no big deal."

"That duffel smells like chlorine. Can you please take something a little nicer?"

"But I like chlorine." With an incredibly un-mom-like snort, she strode out of my room to finish putting stuff in the car. So we'd appear normal (easier said than done), we were taking my mom's car as opposed to the Pega-Prius, and she and Paul were having trouble cramming everything in the tiny trunk. I zipped my bag, checked to make sure Riptide was in my pocket (it's always there, but you never know), and settled into the back seat. Mom plugged my iPod- a gift from Tyson that was enhanced to repel monsters- into the car speakers and soon we were on our way. I quickly fell asleep (blame Achilles), and didn't wake up until my mom doused me in water. I woke, spluttering and disoriented, my mom smiling back at me.

"We're here. Now hurry up and dry off, we don't have all day." I sighed and dried myself off. Paul stared as my clothes and hair instantly dried themselves, and I couldn't help but grin back.

"So where does your cousin live again?" Mom asked.

"She says she lives on Specter Street, in a brick house with a big sign that says... Fenton Works?" He seemed to doubt what he was reading. I almost choked.

"Wait, your cousin is Maddie Fenton? The ghost hunter?" Paul looked astonished, which was normal when he was around me and my friends, but still.

"Um, yes. Why? How do you know that?"

"I was talking to Annabeth and she said the town was supposedly haunted, and I looked it up and the Fentons are like big ghost hunters here."

"Oh," was all he managed to reply as we pulled into Specter Street. The Fentons' house was impossible to miss, with a giant sign that said FENTON WORKS. We parked the car beside a giant green... RV? Even before I met them, I knew that our stay with the Fentons was definitely going to be one to remember.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks SO much to everyone who reviewed and/or added to Story Alert of Favorites. As a thank-you, I've updated early. Enjoy! I will be focusing on Percy's POV but I need to explain Danny's side as well. **

"We're doing WHAT?" Danny yelled at his parents. While his mom looked exasperated and a little angry about Danny's unwillingness to cooperate, Mr. Fenton could barely contain his own joy (and wasn't about to let teenage hormones ruin his mood).

"Danny, calm down. My cousin Paul is a teacher in New York, and he has a teaching convention here in Amity Park. He and his family are going to stay with us for the next few weeks. It's our job to help them feel welcome"

"And teach them about ghosts!" Jack Fenton interrupted. Mrs. Fenton sighed, and Danny mentally face-palmed. He wasn't so sure that Amity Park was the best place for a vacation.

"His stepson is just a bit older than you, Danny, and he's staying in your room with you, so I hope it's clean. They're arriving in an hour or so." Maddie Fenton's eyes narrowed expectantly at her son.

"Yeah, of course! Ha ha, silly me! I, uh, left something up in my room!" Danny sprinted up the stairs and found his room in even worse condition than he'd remembered (which was saying something). Blankets lay rumpled on the bed, the pillows thrown across the room in disarray. Scraps of old homework that he'd never bothered to turn in mixed with miscellaneous trash on the floor. Various articles of clothing were strewn from when Danny had furiously changed out of singed, torn ones into clean clothes before his parents noticed. In retrospect, Danny had no idea how he'd kept his secret for what... almost two years now? His parents' obliviousness never ceased to amaze him. Danny sighed and set to work, shoving the final T-shirt under his bed just as the doorbell rang. Sprinting down the stairs, Danny managed to catch his breath and dust himself off as Maddie opened the door to three normal-looking people: a woman with tired brown hair and blue eyes, a man with salt-and-pepper hair, and a kid about his age with glinting green eyes and black hair just as long and messy as Danny's own. Instantly, Danny knew that this guy was going to make his summer interesting.

Danny stuck out his hand.

"Danny Fenton," he said with a tired but real smile. The other boy's green eyes shone as he shook Danny's hand.

"Percy Jackson," he replied with a lopsided, somewhat dopey smile of his own.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks SO much for the continued interest, reviews, story/favorite alerts, etc. I'm so sorry for not updating- I was on a group trip with no access to a computer. As a result, all three of my stories should be updated by Sunday. **

**Also, I think I forgot to say this but I'm totally disregarding the Heroes of Olympus series. I've made slight changes to Chapter 2 because I thought of a better way to say something in this chapter. So if you see the same-ish paragraph, I'm not just really lazy. Back to Percy POV for the time being (there isn't a balance of Danny v. Percy POV, just whatever works best for the chapter at hand). Percy will be 1st person POV and Danny 3rd person limited-omniscient POV unless I get requests to change Danny's- Percy's will always be the original PJO perspective (because it's awesome that way...). BTW, Jazz is at college, but she might be coming back later for the summer in later chapters. Sorry for the long note- on with the story!**

* * *

My mom rang the doorbell to the house, and I tapped my fingers against my thighs in time to a song that was stuck in my head (but for all of Olympus I couldn't remember any of the words, just the annoying melody...), my thoughts as erratic as my ADHD. What if this family really was as crazy as the Internet made them out to be? What if my cousin was a total jerk? What if-

I cursed myself silently. I was sounding like a teenage girl, what with all the spazzing. I took a deep breath and made a futile attempt to run my fingers through my hair as we waited on the porch. It wasn't too hot, but I was ready for some cool AC and sighed in relief when after like, forever (about twenty-five seconds in demigod speak), I finally heard noise coming from inside the house. I heard commotion coming from people in the front room, and what sounded like someone sprinting down the stairs. A large man in a... spandex orange jumpsuit? opened the door and welcomed us in. The first person I laid eyes on was about my age. He was scrawny but muscular, with messy black hair all swept into shaggy bangs that covered most of his forehead. His ice-blue eyes looked friendly but guarded, and he stuck out his hand in almost a peace offering.

"Danny Fenton," he said with a smile, one that I'd seen far too often- the tired-happy-relived smile, like demigods after surviving a monster attack. I smiled back and shook his hand, introducing myself as well.

"Percy Jackson," I replied. I could see him analyzing me- after seeing Annabeth do it so often, it wasn't hard to spot- with his pale eyes, but I didn't try to stop him. Instead, I turned to his parents. They were just as eccentric as I'd seen on the computer: my uncle, though not nearly as odd as my real dad's side of the family, was huge and almost square-shaped, with graying black hair and indigo eyes. He stood in his neon-bright jumpsuit, grinning like a madman. Beside him stood a more petite woman- my aunt. I couldn't see her face under the red goggles and teal hood of her jumpsuit, but she yanked off the hood to reveal purple eyes and hair cut into a somewhat rounded triangle. She smiled along with her husband, but more friendly and less crazy. Mrs. Fenton was hugging Paul and my mom and Mr. Fenton were shaking hands. I turned back to Danny, who seemed to have finished his scan at last.

"So welcome to Amity Park, I guess. You're from New York, right?"

"Yeah. This place is definitely smaller. I think I'll get used to it eventually, though." I smiled again. He nodded.

"So where do you go to school?"

"I'm a junior at Goode High. Just got out for summer break last week. What about you?"

"I'm a sophomore at Casper High. We still have another week to make up for all the missed... classes..." His voice drifted off, as if he'd brought up a topic that he regretted.

"Missed classes? Like, snow days or something?" Danny sighed, and looked up at me again, as if to judge whether or not he should tell me.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy," he said eventually. I stifled a laugh. Compared to my life, anything and everything else was the epitome of normality.

"Crazy? Try me," I replied. He sighed again, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"Well, our town is always getting attacked... by ghosts..."

"I heard about that," I cut in, trying to save him from having to elaborate when he clearly wanted to change the subject. "Amity Park is supposedly the most haunted town in the entire U.S. Why is that? Is it really true?"

"Yeah," Danny admitted. "It's true. I've seen some of the ghosts myself. If you're gonna be here for a month or so, then you're definitely going to see some. Don't really know why they always attack..." I could tell he knew more than he was letting on, but decided not to press the subject.

"Oh." How else do you respond to something like that? Anyway, Danny's phone began to ring, a weird tune that I could only barely hear the words of.

_'He's gonna catch them all 'cuz he's...' _Danny picked it up and immediately the person on the other line started screaming. From what I could tell, it was a girl, but I didn't know for sure.

"Sam, just calm down. Your parents can't make you do anything you don't want to do. Why don't you just come over here? My cousin is in town and I can introduce you guys." He gave me an apologetic look, but I waved it off with my hand to show I didn't care. "Okay, sounds like a plan. Call Tuck for me, 'kay? Bye." Danny hung up and turned to me.

"Sorry about that. My girlfriend is kinda messed up sometimes. You could say she has anger issues... but anyway, you can meet my two best friends. aIf you want, you could tag around to school with us one day." I smiled, grateful. For once, someone was making a genuine attempt to help me. And I'll be the first to admit it was pretty darn nice.

"That sounds awesome. Maybe we can even go find some ghosts, huh?" I was just joking, but his face quickly paled. "Kidding," I said. He laughed weakly in response.

"I knew that, sorta..." He finally got a text from his girlfriend (who was starting to remind me of a certain daughter of Athena) that said Danny's two friends would be there soon. Actual mortal friends. It must be nice to have a normal life.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow thank you guys SO much for the reviews and alerts! School is out next Friday (yay!) so I will be updating a lot more after that. I have a general idea of where I want to go, but suggestions and constructive criticism are always awesome! Sorry for the super-short chapter. I will probably be updating another chapter later today or tomorrow.**

**Percy:**

After putting up his phone, Danny introduced me to his parents.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton," I said politely (I mean, what do you even call your step-aunt and step-uncle? You'd think I'd be used to all the random relatives by now, but I wasn't really sure).

"Please, call us Maddie and Jack," Mrs. Fent- _Maddie_- smiled.

"What's your name again?" Jack held gestured for me not to give it away as I opened my mouth to help him. "I know this one... um... Peter, right? Peter Johnson!" I almost twitched, but tried to shake it off with a laugh. "Perry Johansson?" I subconsciously gritted my teeth. _The one thing I was excited about getting away from this summer, and it_ still _follows__ me! "_No, no. Um... um... darn! I thought I knew it." Jack looked disappointed. I could see Danny looking at me weirdly; no doubt, he'd seen my reaction. I ward my hand in a "long story" gesture, and he shrugged.

"Uh, Percy Jackson, sir."

"That was my next guess!" He announced. "Anyway, nice to meet you, Percy. Do you like ghosts?" What is with these people? Seriously. I tried to think of a plausible answer; I mean yeah, I like Bianca and Beckendorf and all those guys' ghosts, I suppose. Nico is practically part-ghost. But the town-haunting kind of things? Total joke. Like Hades would ever allow that.

"Ummm... yes, sir?" I said anyways, hoping that was the right answer. Jack's mood changed instantly, the madman grin back on his face in a flash.

"Good, good. My boy Danny just loves ghost hunting. One of these days, we're gonna catch that Phantom and tear him apart-"

"-molecule by molecule!" Maddie finished. I saw Danny tense at the mention of Phantom, who I took to be Danny Phantom, but he tried to hide it. Weird.

"So, I'll just be showing Percy to my room now, right? OK bye!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs- with surprising strength, I may add- without waiting for a response. I shot one last helpless look at Paul and my mom, shooting them a glare that clearly said 'look what you've gotten me into!'. They were both doing a pretty bad job at stifling their laughs.

I was finally dragged into a room at the end of the hallway upstairs. Most of the room was various shades of blue and purple, but a bed the same bright green as the odd RV outside had been dragged in from who-knows-where.

"That one's yours. Sorry about the color," he smiled apologetically.

"No prob, it doesn't hurt your eyes too bad... if you, like, squint... and wear sunglasses," I laughed. I set my duffel (I'd dragged it with me) on the floor and hopped onto the bed. Instantly, my weight started to shift with the mattress. My eyes lit up.

"Dude, is this a waterbed?"

"Oh, sorry, I can get you another mattress..."

"NO WAY! This is awesome!" I leaned back and focused on the currents of the water under me, trying to drown out my memory of a crusty old man and some, well, stretchy waterbeds... Even though the water was pretty contained, I could feel the new energy I'd gained just from laying on the bed. I was definitely not going to be tired this summer.

"Glad you like it. It always makes me feel like I'm drowning or something," Danny replied. I glanced around the room once again, seeing the overflowing trash bin and half-open dresser drawers, in addition to NASA pictures and model rockets and a poster for a band called Dumpty Humpty that I'd never heard of.

"I guess you clean like I do, huh?" I laughed. He flushed just a little. "Do you want to be an astronaut?" I tried to keep conversation up, pointing to one of the many space-related objects around the room. Danny's face was as red as Annabeth's when she was mad, only with embarrassment.

"Um, yeah. Kind of." I suddenly felt bad for the guy. Who wants to spend hid entire summer showing his weird cousin around the town? I decided to stop prying. After a few minutes of aimless chatter, I heard a doorbell and Maddie shout, "Danny! Your friends are here!" For the first time, I saw a real grin on Danny's face. Turning to me as he practically flew down the stairs, he beckoned me towards two teens standing inside the front door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks again for all the reviews. I promise the action will start soon-I'm pretty bad with inserting too many fillers. Sorry! Just a side note: Heroes of Olympus doesn't exist in this story so Percy still has the Curse of Achilles. **

**Percy:**

It was nice to finally be let down the stairs of my own accord. Had Danny dragged me down again my arm might have popped off, even with the Achilles. At the bottom, two teens were standing just inside the front door.

On the left was a girl that I instantly knew was Danny's girlfriend. She had purple eyes, and her short black hair had a tiny pigtail sticking up on top of her head. She was obviously some kind of goth, with purple lipstick, all black and purple clothes (with a tiny bit of lime green), and large black combat boots. In terms of girlfriends, she made Annabeth look like a girly, preppy princess. Next to her was an African-American guy wearing a nasty clash of a ketchup-red beret, mustard-yellow long sleeve shirt, and olive green cargo pants. He was fiddling with some kind of technology while the girl stood more impatiently, arms crossed. As soon as she saw Danny, however, her entire face lit up. Danny smiled back shyly, and I was the awkward bystander. Huh, I guess now I know how it feels to be the Grover of my group. Seems like the Techno Kid did as well, as he just sighed knowingly.

"Hey guys. This is my cousin, Percy. He's from New York, but his family's staying with us for a month or so," Danny introduced me. I kinda smiled and waved, not really knowing what to do. `

"Dude, if you can stand living with the Fentons for a month, you must be some kind of saint," Tech Boy laughed. Goth Girl looked at him angrily.

"The Fentons are just... different," she said, but even she was smirking. "By the way, I'm Sam and the doofus here is Tucker. Nice to meet you."

"You, too," I said. "Was it you who was screaming on the phone earlier?" I blurted out the thought and quickly hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way. Sam only laughed, thank gods.

"Oh, you heard that? Yeah, sorry. My parents tend to get on my nerves... anyway, has there been any, um, you-know-what-attacks the past few hours?" Sam glared pointedly at Danny. Attacks? What kind of town gets attacked so frequently that they're expected? I thought only my life sucked that badly...

"Nope. Surprising right? I've been free all day. Almost died of boredom," Danny laughed. This was obviously some kind of inside joke. I mean who jokes about attacks? Tucker jumped out of virtual reality to glare at Danny; unlike Sam and her boyfriend, he was not laughing. Rather, he had a more weary expression.

"You know you just jinxed it. Right there. Now they have to attack," he sighed dramatically. The other two seemed to weigh their options.

"What the Hade- I mean _heck-_ are you guys even talking about?" I interrupted their silent conversation. Three slightly irked faces turned on me, as if I was Danny's little brother that they were supposed to keep entertained. Which didn't even make sense, considering I'm older than them anyways. They glanced at each other, as if wondering whether to tell me. Danny almost imperceptibly shook his head no. Sam obviously agreed. They were trying to pull something on me, keep me in the dark. But I'm a lot smarter than I look (cue gasps from all my Camp Half-Blood friends). They turned back to me simultaneously. Creepy. For the first time, I wondered if they- especially Danny- could be really powerful monsters. Forgive me for being skeptical, but being a half-blood does that to you. PLus, it would explain Danny's analyzation of me, along with the waterbed and such. But I had the feeling that although they weren't normal, they weren't monsters either. The question was, what were they?

My thoughts were interrupted by an eerie green light sweeping through the house. The entire trio tensed, but with a confidence that I knew they'd done this before, whatever this was...

Out of nowhere, a giant, metal... thing burst through Danny's wall. It had flaming green hair, an eerie aura, and multiple rocket launchers, guns, and other nasty weapons I could have a field day with. He would have been sort of scary, unless you compared him to Kronos. Or the Minotaur. Or Annabeth when you tried to touch her stuff- especially that. Or... well, you get the picture. I could tell Tucker was a bit scared, but Danny showed no fear as he took out- wait, was that a thermos? This family gets weirder and weirder. The robot-thingy didn't even have time to run before it was somehow sucked into the thermos by Danny, with Sam at his side and Tucker recovering from the shock of it all. But then things got even weirder.

Robo-guy busted out of the thermos, much to the disbelief of Danny and the gang. Instead, he charged towards me, guns-a-blazing and what not.

"Skulker! Leave him alone. It's me you want!" I heard Danny shout. I still made no attempt to run, just looked... Skulker? in the eye and fingered riptide in my pocket. Skulker (I mean what kind of name is that anyway? Even for an evil villain.) laughed and turned back to Danny for just a second.

"You aren't always the center of attention, ghost child. If I can- and I will- capture Perseus Jackson, the rewards will be endless!"

With another merciless laugh, Skulker turned towards me, looking as sinister as a demented robot can.

"Time to say goodbye," He smiled.

**Next will be a large chapter so it may not be for awhile. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**This is my favorite story that I'm writing right now so I'll (hopefully) be updating pretty frequently. By the way, I say patron in here, but I don't mean anything to do with the Heroes of Olympus plot. I just couldn't think of a better word. I know it's short- I didn't have much time. A big chapter is coming soon, I promise!**

_With another merciless laugh, Skulker turned towards me, looking as sinister as a demented robot can._

_"Time to say goodbye," He smiled._

"Um, yeah right," I replied snidely, not at all phased by Skulker's "evil rant". Danny looked at me, and I knew I should probably be running away screaming about demon hallucinations. But not to sound rude, but this guy obviously has no idea who I am or what I've faced. I would have run him through with Riptide, but how could I with mortals around? They'd probably see me beating Creepy-Hunt-Guy senseless with a tennis racket that had appeared out of nowhere.

Strangely, Danny looked like he was facing the same predicament. He kept motioning at me with his eyes, as if he was attempting to use mind control to get me to leave. Until then, I figured we both had the same plan: keep this guy, whoever he was, talking as long as possible.

"Who... what even are you? You're not like any monster I've ever heard about," I jeered. Skulker's face turned red even through his metal mask, and added to his flaming green hair, he looked a little like a Christmas tree.

"I'm a ghost, you idiotic boy! Now you're really going to pay!" He looked like he was about to pull an arm-cannon trigger, but thankfully, Danny found another question to ask the 'ghost'. So this is what the Amity Park ghosts were. I could tell it wasn't a hoax, but it wasn't like any ghost I'd seen before. This guy was colorful and opaque- not the misty white spirits of the Underworld.

"How'd you bust out of the thermos anyway? That thing's held ghosts way more powerful than you." He winced almost barely, as if recalling a bad memory of an enemy. Did every kid in Amity have this many foes, or was it just because his parents are ghost hunters?

"My patron has given me immense power, power enough to capture him!" Attention momentarily placed on my cousin, Skulker resorted to pointing an accusing finger at me.

"I'm still here, ya know. Any _good_ robo-ghost-hunter-thing would have already killed me, but I guess I'm forced to be stalked by you," I yelled. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's ticking people off. And Skulker looked like he was about to blow his lid.

I could hear the gun firing up as Skulker turned back to me.

"Oh, Sea Spawn, don't worry. By the time you do, you'll be dead," Skulker laughed. I had time to think _Uh-Oh_ before a giant laser came out of his arm and a flash of bright blue surrounded me. Danny's screams were drowned out in the following explosion.

**I feel kind of terrible for leaving you guys with another cliffhanger- sorry! I didn't have another way to end it. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

_"Oh, Sea Spawn, don't worry. By the time you do, you'll be dead," Skulker laughed. I had time to think Uh-Oh before a giant laser came out of his arm and a flash of bright blue surrounded me. Danny's screams were drowned out in the following explosion._

Most people would be reduced to ashes by a ray that powerful, kinda like the entire wall and all the furniture behind me. But being forced by my psychotic cousin to almost drown in the River Styx has its perks. Unless the gun hit the small of my back (a spot only Annabeth knew about), I was invulnerable.

The dust cleared, leaving a rubble-covered me, dirty but unharmed, in the midst of the wreck. My clothes were singed, torn and barely hanging on my body. Which kinda sucked, because those were my favorite sneakers. Danny and his friends looked at me, and if their eyes were any wider they'd have popped out of their heads. Even Skulker looked surprised, but more angry that his powerful weapon couldn't harm a "defenseless" guy like me. He tried to shoot again, but had obviously wasted the majority of his power on the initial explosion. Muttering some unrepeatable curses, he busted another hole in the ceiling as he flew away.

"Until next time," he growled with an evil smile that would make normal kids dig up their teddies out of their closets. As soon as he was gone, everyone rushed up to me.

"Percy...?" Sam couldn't even choke out the rest of her sentence. She turned to Danny, who shrugged almost imperceptibly. He probably didn't know what to make of me either. Tucker just stood there, openmouthed, frozen like one of Medusa's statues.

I realized a little late that these kids were mortals. They had no idea that I had the curse of Achilles, only that I'd been able to get hit directly with a pretty dangerous-looking gun and had survived pretty much unscathed. Time for some play-acting.

I hunched over, clutching my stomach with a pretty realistic-sounding groan. _Please buy it, please buy it. _Obviously the medic of the group, Sam was all business as she checked me over.

"Oh God. Danny, he's definitely been hurt. Probably Ecto-radiation, minor bruised bones, no cuts or scratches- but that just means the damage is internal." Oh no. I'd been a little too realistic. Of course my mom and Paul would see right through the act, but if I was stuck in bed this summer (or worse... taken to a hospital) I would most definitely go crazy.

"Percy, can you hear me? What hurts? C'mon, we need to make sure you're okay," Danny said kindly.

"Um... I think I'll be okay. Seriously. I had a broken rib that just healed a week or so ago-" Not entirely a lie, but it'd mended instantly with some ambrosia. "-and the gun probably re-injured it. Honestly, I'll be okay," I smiled weakly. They still looked pretty unconvinced, and helped me over to the couch where we all sat down to talk.

"Percy, I don't think you know how serious this is," Danny told me.

"Was that... a ghost? Like the ghosts that attack your town all the time?" I couldn't help but ask. Tucker, who had finally gotten over the shock, just sighed.

"Yeah, but that's one of the worst. His name's Skulker, and he goes around hunting for one-of-a-kind creatures," Tucker seemed to realize what he'd just said, and looked at me strangely. "So why was he hunting you?"

"He said his patron gave him more power. He's usually more harmless. But Skulker doesn't have a boss, unless..." Danny trailed off, looking at his friends. Another silent conversation. I sighed.

"Guys, I know you're pretty nervous about the whole ghost thing. But I can help. We're in this together. So let me know what's going on. I don't scare easily, I promise," I gave a small laugh. Both Sam and Tucker looked to Danny, who eventually shrugged.

"He's right, guys. We should tell him everything." Sam looked shocked.

"Everything? But Danny-"

"-Yeah, Sam. Everything." But he glared at her in a way that let me know he was still keeping some of his secrets. What could this guy be hiding? I was pretty sure he wasn't a demigod, and his friends were definitely mortal, but what else could he be hiding? I wanted to know, but decided not to press him. After all, I had a secret I wasn't telling, too. Danny finally turned to me.

"My parents are ghost hunters. I mean, our entire house is a giant lab filled with inventions for capturing, harming, and... disposing of ghosts that escape back into our world. My mom's a genius, and my dad's a madman. They won't work without each other, so they're always messing up and doing stupid stuff. But their inventions work, for the most part. And me and my friends try to use them to catch some of the ghosts when my parents can't."

"It's made us pretty high on most ghosts' enemy lists-" Tucker started.

"-but it's worth every minute." Sam finished. At least I knew a little of what was going on. I decided to play stupid.

"Oh, that makes sense. Maybe Skulker was just trying to catch me to spite you guys. I dunno." They nodded, obviously wanting to believe such an easy explanation. But I think we all knew there was something going on here. And I was determined to find out.

**Thanks to everyone who's reading! I know these chapters are really short, and I'm sorry. But I didn't mean for this one to end like this. I have lots of plot ideas, but I don't want to put them all in at the beginning. Anyway, thanks again!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks so much for the reviews (and a particular update song...)! I'm so happy you guys like the story. This is explaining Danny's POV once again; the next action chapter will be posted next. I'm sorry it's so short! I'm working really hard on the coming update for you guys. On a side note, I'm totally okay with other authors using my story ideas, but please don't follow my exact plot lines. Thanks! **

**Danny: **

Danny figured he was dead the moment Skulker busted through the wall. How was he supposed to keep his secret from his cousin for an entire month if this is what happened on the very first day? Percy, so unlike Danny's parents, was actually pretty smart. He noticed things that other people didn't. But he seemed to be hiding something of his own. How could he possibly survive that ghost ray? According to Percy, the gun had "hurt" his rib, but he seemed fine after about ten minutes. And then there was the whole concept of Skulker attacking him in the first place. Who was this patron and how did they give Skulker so much power? How the hell did he get out of that Thermos? To Danny, that was the most important question. He shuddered as he imagined a world where the Thermos no longer helped capture ghosts.

There was something else that Danny hadn't told anyone. Not Sam or Tucker, not yet. And especially not Percy. But while Skulker was attacking, he'd heard the odd exchange between his cousin and the ghost. Perseus Jackson? Sea Spawn? Percy had shown sheer determination, not an ounce of fear, as he told Skulker he wasn't like any monster he'd heard of before. What did that even mean?

Sighing, Danny looked over at his cousin, who was sleeping soundly. Percy had been out like a light as soon as he'd hit the pillow, but Danny couldn't fall asleep. Even though Sam and Tucker had volunteered to take patrol for him for the night, Danny's internal clock wasn't about to let him catch a break. He looked once more at Percy's sleeping form, and felt a twinge of jealousy. _It must be nice to have a normal, mortal life._


	9. Chapter 9

**I feel really awful for not updating! This chapter took me FOREVER to write and I ended up trashing it like three times before the final version. Thanks for the continued support and sorry again!**

**Percy: **

If I never had to hear the annoying blare of an alarm clock ever again, it would still be too soon. I was woken at six o'clock on the dot by an unbearable BEEP-BEEP-BEEP coming from the clock by Danny's bedside. With a groan, he slammed his hand on the clock repeatedly until the awful sound ceased. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Danny sat up and yawned. When he saw me, obviously a little mad at being woken up during summer vacation, he hastily apologized.

"Sorry, man. I still have school today." Oh, right. Today was Wednesday. Ugh, was I going to have to hang out with my parents all day? Or worse, _his _parents? I inwardly shuddered.

"It's no prob. Sucks for you, though," I replied. He smiled back at me.

"Hey, I have an idea. Want to tag along with me to school today? I know I'm only a sophomore, but I guarantee it's a lot better than hanging with my folks all day."

"Okay. Sounds cool." We got dressed and walked into Danny's kitchen to find Paul and Maddie already up. Mrs. Fenton was setting out stuff for breakfast, and Paul was drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper. I remembered with a start that today was the first day of the teaching conference.

"Good morning, boys. Is Percy going with you to school today?" Maddie asked cheerily, putting on the table a plate of toast with... a man's face on it?

"Yeah, I figured it would be a good way to introduce him to the rest of the kids in Amity," Danny replied. We sat down at the table and dug in. Aside from it not being blue, the food was really good, though i avoided the strange toast (as did Danny, for some reason). With a wave goodbye to our parents, we walked out the door. Danny's phone buzzed and he looked at the text.

"I guess Sam's sick today. Must have been from last night's patr- I mean, from walking home in the cold last night," he said hastily. "But where's Tucker? Usually he's not _this _late..." As if on cue, the boy I met yesterday turned the corner, panting like he'd just finished a marathon.

"Hey... guys..." Tucker panted, taking long breaths in between his words. "Sorry for... being late..."

"No problem. Percy and I just finished breakfast anyway. He's coming with me today." Danny said evenly. He checked his watch. "we still have time, but let's get going. Knowing my luck, Lancer'll give me a tardy even if I come in before he does."

"He always finds a way," Tucker, recovered from his run, smiled knowingly. We started to walk down the block towards where I presumed his school was. Tucker struck up a conversation.

"So I didn't get much of a chance to talk to ya yesterday, Percy. Are you liking Amity Park?" Tucker asked.

"Um, yeah. The ghost thing yesterday was definitely weird, but it's nice to get away from all the crowds in New York," I replied lamely. We talked for a little longer until we finally reached Danny and Tucker's school: Casper High.

Students covered the hallways, shoving books in lockers and gossiping about who-likes-who or OMG-how-could-she-say-that. It reminded me a little bit of my school, and especially of the gossip trains led by the kids of Aphrodite at Camp. I must have been pretty homesick, because I was even missing that.

"So my first class is English with, ugh, Mr. Lancer," Danny told me, jarring me from my thoughts.

"At least you get the torture over with now. I don't have it until fifth period!" Tucker sighed. I smiled at them both.

"It can't be that bad, right?" I asked hopefully.

I was wrong.

* * *

"Today we will be discussing _Hamlet_ when used as a classic tragedy story. Can anyone tell me some of the basic elements in classic tragedy?" Mr. Lancer was a bald, slightly overweight man with a fashion sense worse than that of Mr. D. He was so... perky about his job that he didn't even notice that about 75% of his class was either asleep, texting, or throwing spitballs and paper airplanes. At least no one was staring at me anymore. Lancer had immediately seen me as I walked in with Danny, dragged me to the front of the class, and made me introduce myself.

"Um, I'm Percy Jackson. I'm Danny's cousin," I'd mumbled, my face red. Then, as if things couldn't have gotten any worse, I tripped on my untied shoelace and face planted in the middle of the classroom.

"What a loser,"

"Just like his cousin,"

"Idiot. Who trips on his own shoes?" I heard muffled jeers but pointedly ignored them, walking back to my desk where I tried in vain to make myself invisible.

Lancer continued with his lesson, totally oblivious to the teenage doofuses around him. We weren't even halfway through the class and I was already bored, plus my ADHD was acting up. Why the Hades did I agree to this?

I dozed off, thinking about what my camp friends were probably doing while I was still stuck in school. Last I checked, Annabeth was still on Olympus, probably trying to find space big enough for Aphrodite's closet or whatever. Yeah, major crisis. I think Grover was Yellowstone, doing environmental stuff. Thalia was with the Hunters, and Hades if I knew where Nico was.

Back at Camp, Travis (with help from Conner) was probably flirting with Katie Gardner by pranking her, and I could practically envision Clarisse shoving some newbie's head in the toilets as we speak. I sighed to myself. Gods, I missed those guys.

The sound of the bell startled me back to reality. I followed Danny to the gym, avoiding all the weird looks I received, and we met up with Tucker just as a large woman- a coach?- strode into the gym and immediately started barking orders. Danny just sighed, obviously accustomed to her tirades. Everyone changed into red gym clothes, and I didn't look too out of place in a T-shirt, basketball shorts, and sneakers. Mrs. Tetslaff (as I found out her name was) didn't give me a second glance, obviously mistaking me for one of her class members. How in the world do you not notice the guy in the blue shirt and black shorts, who happens to be at least two or three inches taller than most of the rest of the class? Maybe it was some kind of teachers' Mist.

"As you all know, it's time for the annual Presidents' Day health and fitness test! I hope you've all been working out, because if any of you fail..." she left the threat hanging as much of the class groaned in protest.

"Okay, so first up: Dash Baxter!" Tetslaff called from a clipboard. A muscular guy with blonde army-cut hair and tall, really skinny legs strode confidently to the front.

"Time to show you runts how it's done! Especially you, Fenturd!" He glared at Danny, who I saw subconsciously grit his teeth.

"Hate that guy... what a jerk," I heard Danny mutter, more to himself than anyone else. With a sharp blow from the coach's whistle, Dash sprinted off to the course set up on the far side of the gym. He was pretty athletic for a mortal: fast and relatively agile. He finished, panting, in about half the allotted time for the test.

"Beat that, Fentoad!" Dash gloated as he was welcomed back by a bunch of other burly guys, who I presumed were the football players. A few other kids went next: a guy named Kwan who was okay at the course; a girl named Paulina and her sidekick Star who complained the whole time about "sweat in their pores" (I made a mental note to introduce this girl to Drew); Tucker, who barely finished the thing at all; a surprisingly athletic girl named Valerie. Coach Tetslaff seemed relatively pleased with everyone's times- not that I could really tell with her expression.

Danny the last kid to go. When the whistle blew, he jogged off with a look of pained concentration on his face. As he struggled just to get from obstacle to obstacle, kids sniggered about "what a wimp" and whatever he was. I tried to conceal my anger, but no one should be allowed to talk to my cousin like that. What a bunch of jerks.

Then again, they didn't see it. After years of discerning bullies from monsters and seeing through the Mist and whatnot, I was pretty good at spotting someone lying. And Danny was good at it. I barely noticed the spilt second when he jumped before he remembered to fall badly, the sprint that he made such an effort to contain. But it was there. If he was actually trying, I bet my cousin could have finished in a mere fraction of Dash's time. So why didn't he?

Danny finished with the slowest time in the class, almost three times as long as the time he was given. Tetslaff glared at Danny, who avoided eye contact with all of his jeering classmates.

"Now everyone's had their time recorded, right?" the coach asked with another glance at her clipboard. I tried to give a reassuring smile to Danny to make him not feel so bad, but he looked almost relieved, like he didn't even care what the hell his time was or who was saying what about him.

"-You! Right there! I haven't seen you run yet! Get out there- NOW!" I heard the coach's harsh voice and wheeled around, wondering who else she could be yelling at.

Her beady eyes were staring right into mine.

"The course. _Now_."

**Okay the chapter was originally longer but I decided to put all that into the next chapter with Danny's POV. It will be coming soon. Thanks for reading! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh my gods! I have 99 reviews! Thank you guys SO much! I know I haven't been updating a lot and I'm really sorry, but I'd rather give you good chapters every so often that I actually worked hard on than bad chapters like every day. So I'm going to work at my own pace and post chapters as soon as I finish them. Thanks! **_  
_

_"The course. Now."_

Danny didn't know if he should be relieved or scared. He was definitely glad that he'd made it through the course with his secret intact (especially from Percy, who Danny knew was a lot smarter than he looked- or acted), but now Percy was going to totally mortify himself in front of everyone... including Dash and Paulina and the rest. Danny had faith in his cousin- who couldn't after seeing stand up to Skulker like that?- but no matter how well he could possibly do, they'd find a way to make him sound like a dweeb. And as much as Danny didn't give a crap anymore about what those kids thought of him, they had no right to tease Percy. The guy was actually pretty cool once you got to know him.

Tetslaff glared at Percy with her beady little eyes. Danny knew she didn't care about her students, but was she really stupid enough to mistake a guy who was obviously older and more athletic for one of the dopes in his class? Not to mention he'd never been to any P.E. classes before that year, he wasn't on the roster, _and _he spoke with the barest hint of a New Yorker's accent. They were in freaking Amity Park, Illinois! But then again, maybe that's why she was a P.E. teacher...

Danny tried to shoot Percy a reassuring look, but Percy had already been shoved to the front of the class. Coach looked at him with a disapproving eye.

"Name?"

"Uh... Percy Jackson?" Percy, unaccustomed to the teachers' general stupidity at Casper High, was obviously still unsure as to why he was being treated as a normal part of the class.

"Not on my sheet... did we get another new student without the Principal telling me?" Tetslaff muttered, more to herself than the rest of the class.

"Well, you see-"

"-Nevermind. Just go! Im starting the timer!" the coach screamed. Percy sighed and took off, taking the hint that resistance was pretty much futile at this point. Danny tried to look away as his cousin came to the first obstacle, a set of tires laid out in a football-style drill. Kids snickered as Percy almost face-planted into the first tire. But Danny saw Percy seem to make an internal decision. A smirk appeared on Percy's face, as if he knew something the entire rest of the room didn't. He picked himself up slowly and began to dash between the tires, placing one foot in each at almost lightning speed. He more than made up for the time he'd lost and sprinted to the rock wall.

Percy launched himself upwards and cleared the wall as fast as a mountain goat, using only three or four footholds to get over the giant wall. He hadn't even broken a sweat yet as he did pull-ups, push-ups, and crunches as quickly and easily as Danny could fire echo-blasts. Danny swore he even saw Percy yawn in the middle of a one-handed push-up.

As Percy sprinted off to the next obstacle, Danny tore his gaze off of his cousin to glance back at Dash and the gang. If Kwan's mouth was any wider, Danny himself could probably fit inside. Paulina was looking at Percy with a glance usually reserved for Danny Phantom himself. Dash was staring at Percy like he was seeing a ghost for the first time, making no attempt whatsoever to hide his disbelief. Star's eyes sparkled like it was Harry Styles or Edward Cullen instead of Percy in front of her, and even Valerie looked mildly impressed (meaning she was shocked to the point of almost fainting).

Danny caught a smirk from Tucker, who'd seen their faces as well. _Total payback, _Tuck mouthed. Danny nodded in agreement, smiling. Dash was never going to live down being shown up by the new kid.

Meanwhile, Percy had cleared all but the last obstacle. The crowd of students watched in amazement as he jumped hurdles like an Olympian (the athlete kind) and sprinted to the end line. He took but a second to recover and calmly walked up to Tetslaff, not even breathing hard.

Tetslaff's eyes shone with emotion Danny thought he'd never see on her: happiness. She clapped Percy hard on the back and checked her stopwatch to record his time. The coach did a double take. Danny could barely make out the numbers, but they had to be wrong. Percy was fast, but no normal kid could clear a twenty minute course in 4:05.

_Then again, _Danny thought to himself, _Percy is far from normal. _

But not even Danny knew just how right he was.


	11. Chapter 11

**Danny's POV again:**

The bell rang, signaling the end of PE (finally). Percy, having caught up with Tucker and Danny, followed them to the cafeteria. Danny could tell Percy was trying to avoid the stares he was receiving- word travels miraculously fast- but even so, the whispers and awestruck glances continued.

"Dude! How did you even _do _that?" Tuck asked. Blushing fervently, Percy mumbled something Danny didn't quite catch- something about training at Camp and running away from... Clarisse? Wasn't Clarisse a girls' name? Only in New York...

"I guess I've just got... good reflexes?" Percy seemed to be testing out the excuse. "Anyway, it's lunch period now?"

"Yup. Just in time for me to get pummeled by Dash and his buddies again," Danny muttered, seeing Dash and Kwan smirk as Danny, Percy, and Tucker walked into the lunchroom.

"Why don't you just show the jerks what you can really do?" Percy cut in. Danny blanched. Did his cousin know?

"Wha- what do you even mean?" Danny asked shakily as they walked through the line, each receiving a so-called "corn dog" and some "assorted vegetables" with a cookie that looked more like a piece of charcoal. He caught a glance from Tucker, who looked almost as scared as Danny himself.

"You know. I mean, you really weren't trying on the course, were you? I saw you. You could've done a lot better. Why didn't you?" Danny didn't get the chance to answer as they were ambushed by Dash and his posse before they could even set their trays down. Sensing an open opportunity, Tucker ran out of the cafeteria, clinging to his corn dog.

"Don't worry, corn dog! I'll save you and your meaty goodness!" Danny resisted the urge to follow his friend as both he and Percy were grabbed by the arms. It took all of Danny's strength not to bust out his best moves, but he let himself be captured easily.

"Hiya Fen-toad, Prissy Jackson," Dash sneered. Kwan smiled evilly, pounding his fist in his hand. Danny braced himself for yet another punch, but he couldn't help but stare as Percy just started to laugh, easily breaking from the football players' grasp.

"Prissy, really? Gods, does no one have a better insult for me? I could probably think of a better one for myself!" His cousin laughed tauntingly. "Honestly, maybe you guys and my... friend Clarisse should get together and brainstorm. Combined, you might even have the full brain power of a normal person!" He smiled like a hyperactive little kid. The rest of the cafeteria had stopped their own conversations by now, eager to see what would happen next.

Dash looked dumbfounded. Was this kid, who'd already shown him up in PE, really going to embarrass him again? Dash definitely didn't do embarrassed. Kwan looked to Dash for reassurance, and Dash shook his head vigorously as if shaking all thoughts of retreat out of his head. He instead advanced towards Danny, who was still pretending to struggle in to break free from his captors' grasp.

"This is your fault, Fen-toejam! You and your wimpy cousin need to be taught a lesson." Dash brought his fist back, preparing his signature sucker-punch, but suddenly, Percy was there, calmly but firmly holding the bully's arm.

"_Do. Not. Hurt. My. Friends."_ Percy said through gritted teeth. Danny could see rage in his eyes, which were now the color of the ocean during a storm. Power practically radiated off of his cousin, and Danny could see real fear on the faces of Dash and the rest. The water cooler in the corner began to tremble slightly and for some reason picked an incredibly inopportune moment to tip over and spill its contents onto many now-soaked feet.

"I'm sorry! Honest to God I won't do it again! Please don't hurt me!" Dash whimpered like a little girl. Instantly, Percy seemed to realize what he was doing. His muscles de-tensed, his eyes lost the livid fury they'd had but a moment before. He let go of Dash and looked around, eyes growing wide at the sight of the toppled cooler. Teachers and students alike were staring at him, each silently praising the new kid for giving Dash what he deserved.

"Hades. Chiron is going to kill me," Percy said, not realizing he'd spoken aloud.

"Percy!" Danny managed to evade the football players who had been holding him and raced up to his cousin, who looked at him with a guilty, grave expression but said nothing. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Fine," he replied in a flat voice, all traces of humor gone. Sensing the mob of students about to close in on them, Danny placed a firm hand on his cousin's shoulder and steered him out of the cafeteria and out of Casper High.

Neither were seen in class for the remainder of the day.

**Corny end, I know. I needed to close the chapter but couldn't find a good way to do so. Does Percy seem really OOC near the end? I'll fix that, I promise. Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12 Part 1

**Thanks for all the feedback! I know Percy would usually have a lot more control, but I had an idea later of how to play this into my overall plot, so I'm going to keep him pretty OOC for a reason. ****This is the first part of the chapter (I decided it was just too long in one piece); the second part will be up by the end of the day, I Swear on the River Styx.**

As Danny steered me out of the building, I remember thinking that of all the hideous monsters and near-death experiences I've faced, being personally gutted by Chiron or Annabeth for harming mortals with my powers would be a pretty sucky way to die. To be honest, I really hadn't been that mad at Dash. I mean, yeah, the guy was a total jerk and needed to be taught a lesson, but I've learned over the years that the best way to deal with bullies is to ignore them.

Why had I gotten so mad, then? I honestly couldn't say. But I was still trembling with rage as Danny led me to a park near his school. It was like the first time I'd met Ares: my blood had started to boil just looking at him. But Ares was still hesitant to show his wimpy podex without other godly support, and he _definitely _would've made himself known.

I took a few deep breaths, calming myself down, and sat on the park bench next to Danny, taking in my surroundings. The park was pretty much empty, as everyone was at work or in school. Trees dotted the grassy fields and paved concrete paths. I could almost imagine looking out and seeing the New York City skyline, as I'd done in Central Park so many times before, but all I could see were the semi-vacant streets and small buildings of Amity Park. Needless to say, it really didn't improve my mood.

"Hey, Percy, you okay? You looked about ready to choke Dash and his gang- not that they wouldn't deserve it," Danny joked half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just a little shaken is all," I sighed. "I don't exactly appreciate it when people are mean to my friends and family. A personal loyalty sorta thing." Danny nodded as if he understood.

"Well I don't think you can go back to school without being totally mobbed, and I'm as good as _dead_ if my parents catch me ditching..." He trailed off.

"Oh gods, I didn't mean to get you in trouble. We should probably head back to your school. I'm sure your teachers and Tucker and everybody's wondering where you are anyways."

"They're used to me disappearing by now," He laughed.

"What?"

"Oh, um, nothing," Danny said hastily, as if we'd once again ventured to a topic he didn't want to discuss. Then again, if I was skipping classes all the time, I wouldn't exactly want to talk about it either, but still, it made me suspicious. "Anyway, we've already missed most of my computer class, so by the time we'd get back, there's only an all-school assembly left for the rest of the day. Some crap about setting goals or making friends or whatever. Do you really mind going back?"

"No problem. Lead the way," I replied. We began the walk back to Casper High.

* * *

"It's all about _you_! What _you _want, what _you _are going to do to get it, and how _you _are going to overcome the obstacles life throws at _you!" _Unfortunately, the so-called motivational speaker was too loud for me to doze through the lecture. Seriously, was I really supposed to care about 'goals for the future' and 'believing is achieving'? Danny and Tucker, who were both seated to my side, seemed to share my lack of enthusiasm. Just as we were about to begin 'the key to self-discovery', the double doors of the auditorium flew open.

In flew a giant owl, talons extended and beak as sharp as Captain Hook's namesake hand. The students yelled and ducked. The owl screeched, the high pitch cracking some of the lights and nearly deafening most of the school body. The owl's wings beat powerfully, sending stray papers and the like tumbling all over the auditorium. Its head whipped around constantly as if looking for something. Unfortunately, I had a pretty good guess what- or _who _- it was searching for.

"Athena can't hate me this much, can she? What did I even do this time?" I muttered to myself. It turned and for the first time I could see its huge, hate-filled eyes. They looked more like snake eyes, totally blood-red with a tiny black pupil in the center.

That couldn't be right. Athena's owl minions had, like, normal bird eyes. I realized with a sinking feeling that this monster was probably way, way worse than anything Athena could've sent. Oh gods. I turned quickly to Danny and Tucker.

"You guys need to get out of here. Now." But I was speaking to an empty chair. I saw Tucker scrambling to get out of the gym with the rest of the people, but Danny was nowhere to be seen. I could only hope that he'd already escaped.

Jumping out of my seat, I ran towards the owl.

"Bird Brain! Over here!" I waved, running to the front and jumping onto the stage. It followed me, going surprisingly slowly, as if it knew that it would win and had all the time in the world to kill me. Oh joy.

Pulling out my sword, I charged but was quickly deflected by its steel-like talons. It screeched again, but this time it actually spoke.

"Foolish demigod. You do not know the true power of Ascalaphus!" Its voice was shrill and so loud I could barely understand.

"A Scaly Who?" I lowered my sword. Now the owl looked really peeved.

"A-scal-a-phus you idiot! Now you will truly pay!" I racked my brain. Ascalyphus... I know I'd heard that somewhere...

For once, my brain seemed willing to help me. I had a sudden flashback of Demeter telling me off while I was on Olympus and I did... something or other to tick her off (not that it took much).

_"...Don't make me mad, boy. Just because you saved Olympus doesn't mean I won't turn you into an owl just like that awful Ascalyphus. He was Hades's garden-keeper, you know, back before my daughter was... well, that's a story for another time. But anyway, he was the one who delivered the news that my dear, dear Persephone had been... To say I was angry would have been the understatement of the millennia. How dare he tell me such a thing? But because of my dear, soft heart I only turned him into an owl. Now he even as a job as one of Hades's underworld spirits. But I'll do much, much worse to you!"_

Knowing his backstory was nice and all, but did this guy have any weaknesses? Ways I could defeat him?

I sighed. Guess I'd just have to defeat him the old-fashioned way.

I struck again, slashing with my sword and dodging his beak and talons. I could feel the Achilles helping me, hyper-activating my senses and helping me dodge the owl's attacks. But I couldn't seem to land a blow on it. Riptide grazed its feathers but never found skin.

Just as the owl opened his beak in what seemed like an attempt to swallow me, it was wrecked into the wall on the side of the stage by a strange... gunshot? All I could see was a bright green flash.

"A ghost owl? Seriously? What's your name, Spooky?" I wheeled around to the source of a somehow familiar voice.

I don't know who paled more as our eyes met: me, or Danny Phantom.

**I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 12 Part 2

**I've actually kept my promise for once! Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and story/author alerts. Here's the second part of the chapter. The gods may spare me yet...**

**By the way, I was asked about Ascalyphus being seen through the Mist. Danny can definitely see through it, and I like to think that the Mist is really thin because of the ghosts. The mortals are so used to the strange things that the Mist doesn't really work. They probably saw a big owl 'ghost' and naturally fled.  
Also, in my story, the Greek monsters can be harmed by ghost weapons (if Kronos can be startled by a plastic mortal hairbrush, I think this is possible) but can only be killed by Celestial Bronze/Imperial Gold, and cannot be put in the Thermos. Like mortals, ghosts are not harmed by Celestial Bronze/Imperial Gold. **

**Danny:**

Danny figured his day was pretty much going to go downhill from here once the freaking owl burst through the doors. As always, people started screaming and fleeing the auditorium, but at least it was easy for Danny to slip away. Turning invisible and intangible, he fled behind the stage. The icy rings washing over him replaced Danny Fenton with Danny Phantom, and he flew back out to get the ghost and get this over with.

The owl had cornered some poor kid on the stage, and was shouting about Scaly Fuss. Danny had enough experience with fighting the Box Ghost to know to tune out whatever the ghost was saying. With a well-aimed Ecto-Blast, the owl was thrown into the back wall and away from the kid.

"A ghost owl? Seriously? What's your name, Spooky?" Danny taunted, preparing to suck the thing into the Thermos. The kid wheeled around, and they both paled in unison. The owl had been attacking Percy Jackson, and by the looks of it, Percy had been fending the thing off pretty well.

But where the hell did he get a sword?

"Hey, you okay?" Danny asked, dropping to the ground.

"Fine," Percy sighed, looking at the owl as if it was a common occurrence. He glanced back up at Danny. "You're Danny, aren't you?" Danny stumbled back. No way he could've already figured it out.

"I don't know what you're-"

"-Danny Phantom, the ghost hero? I mean, I've only seen a few blurry pictures, but you look like him. And I haven't seen any other teenage ghost hunter flying around here. That was your... blast thingy?" Danny inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uh, yeah. Ecto-Blast. It's a ghost power thing." Somehow, Percy nodded like he understood. "Where'd you get the sword?" Danny blurted. Percy looked mildly surprised.

"You can see it?"

"How could I miss it?" Danny replied scornfully. Percy muttered something about ghosts and mist.

"It's... a long story. And I don't have time for this," he gestured to the dazed owl. "So, um, thanks for everything. But I can finish this thing off myself." Percy turned back to the ghost and drew his sword once again.

Who did Danny's cousin think he was?

"Um, I don't know about that. This guy's a pretty powerful ghost, and it usually takes a ghost to beat one," Danny said cautiously. To his surprise, Percy just laughed.

"If only..." Danny heard him mutter. There wasn't much time to continue the conversation, as the newly-recovered owl launched himself at Percy once again. Percy's sword just clanged off its talons, which Danny presumed were made of metal.

"Seriously, Percy. Get out of the way!" Danny said through gritted teeth, not realizing his mistake. Percy looked up at him, confused, but made no attempt to move.

"How the Hades do you know me?" he asked incredulously.

"You... have a nametag on," Danny replied shakily. Thank God Percy's stupid _Hello! My Name is _ _sticker was still partially hanging on his shirt. Percy looked down at his own chest.

"Oh. Stupid me," he muttered, dodging the owl's attack from behind as if it was no big deal. Danny had to admit, his cousin could definitely fight. But it was time to end this. He pulled out the Fenton Thermos and shot the owl just as Percy jumped out of its talons. The thermos's beam shot right at the owl, but the ghost seemed unaffected. The bright flash from Danny's weapon cleared leaving only an angry owl, a miffed Percy, and a flabbergasted Danny Phantom.

"Are you trying to blind me or something? And is that a thermos?" Percy shouted over the ghost's screeches. Danny chose not to respond, firing more blasts as Percy charged with his sword.

Percy fought like the sword was an extension of himself. His strikes were almost too fast for Danny to see, and he somehow managed to never be scratched or bitten himself. But Danny could see Percy was tiring. Sweat poured down both teen's fees, but Percy kept striking and Danny kept firing.

"It shouldn't be taking this long," Percy panted. Danny nodded. He mustered all the strength they had, determined to make one final stand, and could see Percy doing the same. Just as Danny was about to fire one last time, the owl exploded into a flurry of sulfury sand, blasted apart by an invisible breeze.

The dust finally cleared, leaving an exhausted Percy, panting Danny, and another kid.

Where the hell did he come from?

The kid, about fourteen, sheathed his black sword (of course, he just had to have one, too) and dusted the crap off of his black aviator's jacket. He walked over to Percy, and for a second, Danny thought the kid was going to attack Percy as well.

"Hey, Perce. What's up?" Percy's eyes practically bugged out of his head and he shot a quick glance at Danny, whose jaw was close to hitting the floor."

"Nice timing as always Nico. But what the Hades are you doing here?"

**This chapter (esp. the ending) is pretty weak, I know. But I lost the document three different times, so it took me a while to write... and rewrite... you get the picture. Thanks for reading!**


	14. Chapter 13

**I'm getting to the climax of my story- I promise, there is a plot somewhere in there. I lost my laptop charger so couldn't write for a while, sorry! Thanks for reading and for all the emails I found in my inbox today! **_  
_

_"Nice timing as always Nico. But what the Hades are you doing here?"_

Instead of a response, Nico suddenly clutched his stomach. Danny could see the kid- Nico, he reminded himself- cringing slightly as Percy removed Nico's hand and checked him over. A small gash was leaking blood onto Nico's clothing.

"Freaking owl must've gotten me after all. Crap," Nico looked down at himself. "This was my favorite shirt, too. Ambrosia?" He looked hopefully at Percy, who sighed as he pulled a ziplock baggie out of his pocket and handed what looked like a lemon bar to Nico. As much as Danny liked sugar, how was this going to help the situation?

The stuff seemed to heal Nico immensely, as he visibly relaxed and wiped the rest of the blood off with his sleeve. When Danny looked at Nico's stomach again, the gash had pretty much disappeared. What the-?

"You okay?" Percy asked, obviously still concerned. Nico nodded and managed a smile.

"You're welcome for saving your podex, by the way," He smirked. "Gods, being half-dead totally _sucks."_

Danny looked up with a start. Was Nico like him? How was that even possible? His mind raced a mile a minute as Percy nodded, smirking along with Nico.

Were they _both _Halfas? _No way_, Danny thought to himself. _Not even my luck could be that bad._

"-And don't think I've forgotten about you." Danny was jolted back to reality and found Nico's dark eyes boring into his green ones. "Who in the name of Olympus are you?"

"Danny," he replied, sticking his hand out somewhat awkwardly. "Danny Phantom." Nico's eyes grew wide and he somewhat reluctantly shook the ghost's hand. Danny was shocked to discover Nico's hand was just as cold as his own.

"Wait, no way. _You're _Danny Phantom? Like, The Danny Phantom? _Di Immortales_, Perce, even you don't normally have luck this bad," Percy merely looked confused as Nico shot a glance his way.

"Excuse me? Have we, uh, met somewhere?" Danny asked tentatively. Nico laughed, sounding like a normal thirteen-or-fourteen-year-old for the first time.

"No, but my Dad's pretty pissed about you and all your... issues. He was telling me the other day that he just might kill the other half of you and be done with the whole thing." Nico was incredibly nonchalant about it, as if discussing the weather or the best place to get a cheeseburger. Danny, on the other hand, was flabbergasted for about the zillionth time today. This kid couldn't possibly know about him, right? Even if he was a Halfa- the likelihood of which was becoming stronger and stronger in Danny's mind.

"The other half... what're you talking about Nico?" Percy asked, still obviously confused. At least there was a little relief- Percy was obviously normal and still oblivious. Thank God for that.

"It's not really my place- and I'm sure you'll find out eventually, anyways." He turned back to Danny. "I'm Nico di Angelo, by the way."

"Erm, pleased to meet you, I guess," Danny replied. He had a sneaking suspicion that he definitely wanted to stay on Nico's good side. The only response he received was a curt nod.

"Uh, not that I'm not grateful and all, but why are you in Amity in the first place?" Percy ended the extremely awkward conversation.

"I was getting to that," Nico shot back. "Dad's sent me on another mission." He said it with deadly seriousness, like he was singlehandedly saving the world and need not be distracted from his task.

"So Death Breath Errand Boy returns?" joked Percy with a hint of amusement. His smirk was quickly replaced with a look of mock-seriousness when Nico shot an obvious death glare at Percy. "Right, then. Carry on."

"As I was saying, apparently Amity Park is a hotspot for ghosts escaping back into the mortal world. Some, like Danny, are helpful and don't go around causing trouble. But there're a lot that need to be sent back to the Underworld."

"The Underworld?" Danny couldn't help but ask. "I thought all ghosts lived in the Ghost Zone."

"The Ghost Zone? Never heard of that one..." Percy muttered.

"Hades has a lot of layers, I guess. The Ghost Zone must be one of them..." Nico said uneasily. "Ghost Zone, where have I heard that before?"

"I don't really know that much about it," Danny said. "But it's kind of like an alternate world, mirroring this one- except it's for ghosts."

"Do you know anywhere we could get more information? Maybe even an entrance to the infamous Ghost Zone?" Nico asked.

"Hey, I have an idea. I'm staying with my step-cousin, Danny, and his parents are big-shot ghost hunters. I bet they know a ton about it. Mr. Fenton was blabbering on and on about ghosts all through dinner last night, and we could IM Annabeth and Chiron, too," Percy said. "Just let me go find Danny..."

"Oh, well, um, I gotta go! Places to be, ghosts to catch, you know how it is. I'll, ehrm, see you guys around!" Danny said suddenly. Turning invisible and intangible, he flew outside to where all the students were gathered, calling their parents to come pick them up early and dashed to the alley behind the cafeteria. With a quick glance to make sure no one was around, he changed back and Danny Fenton ran back to the rest of the school body just in time.

He saw Percy and Nico walking out of the auditorium, swords now mysteriously gone. He went back over their conversation in his head. _Nico said he was half-dead, and where did the swords come from... or go to? Then there was that lemon bar that totally healed Nico, and all their talk- like they dealt with ghosts and monsters every day. _

_Where did Nico even come from? _Danny wondered suddenly. He'd just shown up at the precise moment to kill the owl, like he'd Apparated or flew or something. _That's impossible, _Danny thought, but for some reason, he couldn't convince himself. As he saw Percy, Nico in tow, walking towards him, he was sure of it.

Percy was hiding something. And Danny was going to find out what it was.

**I had a hard time with this one so I'd really appreciate some feedback. Thanks!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Here's the next chapter! Sorry for not updating- I was out of town. **

**In response to a few reviews: the Ghost Zone is definitely not another layer of Hades, but I may have to relate the two fandoms in some way just to make my plot work. Sorry if this upsets anyone.  
**

**Thanks to all the people who left me reviews and some awesome ideas. I LOVE feedback and suggestions, and though I can't promise to use them all, I'd love to hear ideas. Thanks!**

**Also, when Nico was talking about being half-dead, I meant it more as his father being the Lord of the Dead/living in the Underworld/etc. He knows Danny's secret as well, so he's basically pushing Danny's buttons and keeping him on edge (typical Nico).**

**Percy:**

After that somewhat awkward encounter between the demon owl, the ghost, and the Ghost King, I was glad to be out of the auditorium. Pulling Nico behind me, I saw a somewhat disheveled Danny standing on the outskirts of the crowd of students.

"Percy!" He waved when he saw me.

"Hey, Danny. Thanks for waiting up for me. I probably couldn't get back to your house otherwise," I admitted somewhat sheepishly, ignoring Nico's snickers behind me. Danny only smiled in response.

"It's fine. I'd probably be totally lost if I ever went to New York. Um, so you want to head back? Tuck already left- his mom's making meatloaf tonight," he explained, as if that was a reason in itself. I nodded like understood and we were about to start for home when Danny first noticed Nico.

With a classic smirk, Nico finger-waved when he met Danny's eyes.

"Oh, uh, I guess I should introduce you guys. Nico, this is my step-cousin Danny. Danny, this is my sorta-cousin Nico."

"I know all about Danny," Nico said creepily. His eyes widened innocently when he saw the sideways glance I gave him (though for some reason, Danny seemed neither surprised nor creeped out). "What? I get around, too, ya know. And since when have I been demoted to your 'Sorta-Cousin'?" Nico used air quotes for emphasis. Not even wanting to go there right now with Nico, I turned back to Danny.

"So is it okay if he tags along with me after school today? My mom'll be fine with it if your folks are." Danny nodded and Nico and I followed him as we began to walk back to the house.

"So, uh, Nico, do you live in Amity Park? I've never seen you here before," Danny asked, sounding unsure.

"I'm here on business for my, uh, dad. And I found out Kelp Head was here and thought I should stop by and save his- that is, _pay_ him a visit," Nico smiled. I shot him a glance to say _don't blow it_. Nico was normally better with the slip-ups than this, but he just smiled brightly and carried on.

I should have known that nothing good ever happens when Nico smiles like that.

* * *

Maddie and Jack were somehow cool with the fact that my other cousin had appeared out of nowhere to stay with me for the day. Paul, who still hadn't gotten used to Nico shadowing into my house at random, managed to act nonchalant about it as well. We headed up to Danny's room, Nico immediately flopping down on my bed. The look on his face when the mattress moved under him was priceless.

"Is this a freaking waterbed? What the Hades, Perce?"

"Got something against water?" I asked mock-innocently. He looked about ready to bite me.

"Um, am I missing something?" Danny asked.

"Water and I don't exactly get along," Nico said simply.

"Anyways, I gotta finish this paper for class. Lancer'll kill me if it isn't turned in by the end of the week, and I usually am too busy-" he stopped for a moment and seemed to swallow his words. "-too busy with, uh, other stuff to do it. So are you guys okay hanging around here? I have an Xbox in the living room or whatever," Danny looked almost pleading, and I felt sorry for him. And I was also struck with an idea.

"We'll be fine. Trust me, I know how it is trying to get something done and balance your _annoying cousin _at the same time." I shot a meaningful glance at Nico, who glared right back at me. "We'll just head downstairs and maybe grab something to eat. Good luck with your report." Dragging Nico behind me, I started down the stairs just in time to catch Danny's grateful look.

"C'mon, I don't even like Xbox," Nico whined.

"I know. But now that Danny's doing homework we can ask his dad about the Ghost Zone!" I said.

"For a Seaweed Brain, you're surprisingly sneaky," he commented dryly in response, which I took as an agreement.

"And then I'll talk to Annabeth. She'll know something for sure. Now where is Mr. Fenton...?" You'd think a guy in a giant orange suit would be hard to miss, but we set off in search.

Little did I know Nico wasn't the only one following me.

**And this is what we call an awful filler chapter. Sorry! But it's an update and I needed to insert some calm before the real action starts. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Thanks so much for all the reviews- over 270! That's amazing! This story alone has received over 15,000 views in total. That's almost one view per every word I've written (including my really long author's notes)! I'm really glad people like this story, and I've visited the profiles of every person (with an account) who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted any of my stories. Let me say there are some amazing stories out there! **

**In response to reviews: I'm not really a big fan of Danielle Phantom, so she won't be in this story. Annabeth will definitely come in soon, but I don't think Thalia will be a character (as much as I love to write about her). Cliffhangers are usually the easiest way for me to end the chapter, so you'll see a lot of them in my stories... guilty as charged. **

******Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

"Mr. Fenton? Can Nico and I talk to you for a sec?" I called, Nico tailing somewhat unwillingly behind me. I figured we'd checked just about every room in the house when I heard a loud explosion, followed by a frustrated yell, coming from... downstairs? Since when did the Fentons have a basement?

"Do your cousins have hidden passage or something?" Nico asked.

"If they do, I had no idea," I shook my head in bewilderment. "But let's go check it out."

"Okay, if I had a secret base underneath my house, where would I put the entrance...?" I heard Nico mutter. Just as we were about to give up, there was another, much larger explosion. The door that I thought was a broom closet busted off of its hinges into the hallway behind us. I coughed, trying to wave away the green smoke now billowing out of doorway. Heavy footsteps grew louder, interrupting the somewhat steady curses coming from who I assumed was Mr. Fenton.

As he finally made his way to the top of the stairs, I saw just how bad the explosion had been. Only patches of orange were visible of the charred and green-goop-covered jumpsuit. Black smoke was wafting dubiously off his hair.

"Stupid piece of sh- Percy! Nikki!" The cuss was cut short when Jack finally noticed us. "Where's Danny?"

"He's finishing some homework, but we had a few questions for you. If you're not, uh, preoccupied."

"It's about the Ghost Zone," Nico interjected, still glowering about being called Nikki (at least someone besides me understands how it feels).

"Ghosts!? See, I knew kiddos like you would want to learn someday. I know all there is to know about ghosts!" Mr. Fenton said animatedly, puffing out his chest and crossing his arms somewhat ridiculously. I exchanged a sideways glance with Nico.

_You really think this guy can help us? _He had one eyebrow raised scornfully.

_I__t's worth a shot. _Hard to argue with that. We followed Jack down a set of winding stairs to what he told us was his lab.

* * *

Gods, the place was messier than my cabin at the end of the summer. Green goop covered practically every avaibale surface, screws and bits of metal generously littered the floor, and boxes and heaps of junk were stacked against all the walls. I could see the scortch marks on the walls and floor as well.

The only thing in seemingly good, stable condition was a giant cicular doorway on the far wall. Even Nico looked midly interested.

"What's that?"

"The one and only Fenton Ghost Portal. This thing is a direct gateway to the Ghost Zone itself!"

"No way," I breathed. Finally some answers.

"Well, what are we waiting for? C'mon Kelp face, we've got a Ghost Zone to explore!" Nico seemed way too hapy about this.

"Whoa! Wait up, Nikon. You'd be torn apart by all the ghosts- this door is the only thing we have keeping them at bay," Mr. Fenton seemed a little nervous.

"Wait, what even is the 'Ghost Zone'? Did you make it r something?" I asked. This question he seemed happy to answer.

"Nope. All I know is that's where the ectoplasmic scum stay until they escape back into our world. It's up to me, Jack Fenton!, to keep Amity Park safe!"

"And exactly how do you do that?" Nico asked skeptically.

"With my entire line of Fenton Inventions! Of course, not many of them work, but that's why I keep working!" He proudly held up a half-melted hunk of metal.

"So that's what caused the explosion," I reasoned. He nodded.

"All in the name of scientific discovery, as they say! Speaking of, I've gotta get back to this. Do you kiddos want to help me?"

"No way," Nico replied bluntly.

"He means, uh, no thanks! We're just going to go check up on Danny. Thanks for all the help Mr. Fenton!" We practically fled up the stairs, leaving him to his meddling.

* * *

"So that was a total bust. What now?" Nico asked once we were seated back in Danny's room (Danny had left a hastily scribbled note about going to the library for his report). I couldn't help but agree. Where else could we find out about ghosts short of a ghost themselves? I knew only one person with that kind of information.

"Plan C. I think it's high time we talk to Annabeth," I smiled.

**Okay, to anyone who was confused about the "broom closet" thing, Percy probably just peeked into the room. When he didn't see any light, he moved on, not noticing the staircase off to the side. I know it's a stretch- sorry!**


	17. Chapter 16

**I can't even say how excited I am- over 300 reviews! Thanks so much to everyone who has continued to read, review, and favorite/alert!**

Danny felt bad about stalking his cousin. Honestly.

But there was something different about Percy and his weird cousin; a secret they were both trying hard to keep. And Danny was determined to find out. He'd made a quick excuse about a homework project (though to tell the truth, the bottom of his backpack really did house a layer of incomplete assignments and the like) as soon as they'd gotten home from school.

Percy and Nico quickly excused themselves as soon as Danny'd given them the opportunity, just like Danny knew they would. Scribbling a note about going to the library- like that would ever actually happen- Danny phased downstairs in search of his cousins. As soon as he heard the explosions, he knew where he'd find Percy and Nico, and soon enough, Danny Phantom was hovering invisibly behind Mr. Fenton a the man raved on and on about ghosts.

Even Danny's dad had enough sense to not let them into the Ghost Zone, however. Danny could see the blatant disappointment on both of their faces. What normal person in their right mind would _want _to go into the paranormal hotspot of the universe?

But then again, Danny had begun to realize that neither Percy nor Nico were completely normal. Or completely sane.

He flew after the two as they beelined back to his room- the typical response of anyone asked to help his dad with ghost inventions. They found the note from Danny and seemed to believe it.

"So that was a total bust. What now?" Nico asked, exasperated. Percy seemed to think about it for a bit before a huge smile spread across his face.

"Plan C. I think it's high time we talk to Annabeth." Danny had no idea who Annabeth was, but Nico obviously did.

"Ugh, fine. You can go talk to her first and get all your mushy-gushy-I-loooove-you-making-out stuff out of the way; I'll go downstairs and try not to barf my guts out." Percy blushed faintly; Danny assumed that this Annabeth must be his girlfriend.

"Whatever. I'll go call her."

"You have any money?" Nico sounded doubtful. Were they planning on using a payphone? The Fentons had a home phone line which Percy had already been told he could use. Percy nodded and pulled a tattered wallet out of his duffel bag.

"Let's just hope Annabeth isn't busy. Remember when you called her in the middle of the chariot races?" Percy laughed. "She was about to kill you!" Nico only grumbled in response.

That confused Danny. Wouldn't she just not answer her phone? Moreover, why would she be racing a chariot?

"Yeah, yeah. Go call her, Kelp Face. And don't take too long with all the kissy-kissy. I'll be downstairs." Nico left, and Danny could just barely hear him grumbling about chariots, girlfriends, and not making Annabeth mad.

Danny followed Nico, expecting Percy to come down any minute. Nico was just milling around, not doing anything and seemingly content with it. Danny couldn't help but be curious when he heard the shower turn on upstairs. Was Percy really _showering? _Almost as soon as it had turned on, though, it turned off. Flying up to the hallway, Danny could hear voices from inside the door- Percy, and a girl's voice. Danny figured he probably wanted privacy with his girlfriend.

But if he really wanted to figure out what the heck was going on around here, he was just going to have to snoop a little. He made a mental note to apologize to Percy eventually and flew through the door.

He'd already thought that his day- and his cousin, for that matter- couldn't get any weirder. But what he saw, as always, proved him wrong.

**Short chapter... sorry. I know you guys are looking for some Percabeth, so that will be in the next chapter! Thanks for reading!**


	18. Chapter 17

**She lives! Please don't be too terribly mad at me for not updating! I would be making a ton of excuses and stuff, but honestly, I hated this chapter for a long time- it was really and truly total crap. So I scrapped it and rewrote it. And then hated it, trashed it, and rewrote it again. And again... and you get the picture. So here's the final product. I really hope you like it!**

**For future reference: let's just say that Danny has a really large bathroom, okay? Maybe it's the master one or something...**

******Percy:**

I'll be the first to admit that asking about the Ghost Zone and whatever wasn't the only reason I'd wanted to call Annabeth. It had only been a few days, but I already missed her terribly. I could only imagine being separated for a long time- could I even bear not contacting her for a year? I probably couldn't even stand it for eight months.

Anyways, I was excited to see her, but I also knew I was going to be in for it if I didn't apologize. In the middle of everything that was going on, I hadn't been able to call her, even after promising to do so every night ("you Seaweed Brain!"). I could only hope that she wouldn't chew my head off.

Danny's bathroom was actually perfect for IM-ing someone. I moved basket of rubber ducks (strangely labeled "DP Ammo" in handwriting I recognized as Mr. Fenton's) out of the windowsill to let sunshine stream through, and once I locked the door, I turned on the shower and a perfect rainbow reflected on the wall. Digging a drachma out of my wallet, I tossed it in and murmured, "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Annabeth Chase at... Camp Half-Blood, I think?"

I turned off the water as the connection settled (going green, y'know?), and soon enough, a girl with curly blonde hair and grey eyes ran into the image. Her eyes widened when she saw me waving.

"Percy!" she exclaimed.

"Annabeth" I smiled. Just seeing her made my day at least a million times better.

"I was worried- thought you'd been eaten by a monster or something! Why didn't you call me?"

"Wise Girl, you're not my mother," I reminded her gently. "But I'm sorry." She only rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, boys. Why do I even expect any different? So how've you been? Seen any ghosts?"

"Uh, yeah, actually. Met Danny Phantom in the... flesh, I guess you'd say?" Her eyes lit up in excitement.

"No way. How was he?"

"Pretty cool, I guess. He's, like, our age!"

"Wonder how he died..." her voice was quiet. The thought had never crossed my mind.

"I suppose I could always ask Nico- did you know he ended up over here, too? Mission for his dad or whatever." She rolled her eyes again, muttering something about Death Breath Errand Boy.

"So that's where he disappeared off to. One day he shows up at Camp, asking about... well, I didn't exactly pay him much attention. I was too worried about-" she stopped abruptly.

"About what? What's wrong?" I was immediately tense, on guard.

"About _you_, Seaweed Brain!" Her cheeks were pink. "I seriously thought some monster or crazed up god had mauled you!" I was immediately guilty.

"I didn't know... I'm sorry. You don't need to worry about me- I promise. I won't die." I couldn't find the words to say, and my stomach was wrenching.

Luckily, of course, our wonderful moment was interrupted. The door to the bathroom flew open.

"If you guys are snogging through the mist or something, you'd better hope your anti-wet thing works on barf, Percy," Nico warned, shielding his eyes as he walked in. Annabeth sighed.

"All clear, Nico." He removed his hand from his face, giving us a cheeky wave.

"Hey, Annie-" her face was steaming "-hey, Perce. Hope I didn't interrupt anything important or something." I could tell that he knew exactly when he'd walked in. Nico suddenly turned and faced the shower curtain. What was so interesting about cartoony fish I didn't know. He waved again, even more smug if possible.

"Hey, Danny. Nice of you to drop in." Demented-in-the-head-death-breath turned back around and locked eyes with me, him rolling his as if I already knew what was going on.

"Um, Nico? Care to explain to us why you just waved to the Fentons' shower curtain?" I asked.

"Oh, he's just being shy. You can come out now, Danny. No use hiding from us." His grin was devilish. Unsurprisingly, the curtain did nothing.

"Well unless someone was experimenting on him and accidentally made him invisible... who is this Danny anyway?" Annabeth asked.

"He's the step-cousin of mine whose family I'm staying with," I replied. Nico made no move to tune back into reality, still muttering under his breath and smiling psychotically.

"Danny, if you don't come out I'm going to make you do so," Nico said at last, his dark eyes gleaming.

"Nico..." both Annabeth and I started. He held up his hand as if using the Force, but dropped it and turned back around. Both of the sane demigods in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Uh, you okay there? Need some sleep or something?" I asked, concerned. What if he really was hallucinating- stuff like that couldn't possibly be good for you.

Without warning, Nico whirled around and tossed a rubber duck (presumably one from the Ammo basket) at the space he'd just been speaking to, but instead of hitting the shower curtain, it made a thud as if truly crashing into an invisible wall before falling to the floor a few feet in front of anything solid the duck could possibly have hit. No freaking way.

My breath caught in my throat. Even if Danny had a few secrets of his own (and if he could turn invisible, I was pretty sure that he did have some), nothing could compare to me having to explain about being half-god. Nico only smirked as if he'd planned this all along. I looked back at Annabeth, whose image was still shimmering via the IM. Her eyes were as wide as I'd ever seen them before.

"No freaking way," she breathed, voicing my thoughts exactly. Well, no going back now. I stepped forward reluctantly.

"Uh, Danny? You wanna come out or something?" I sounded crazy, even to myself.

And all of the sudden, he appeared, seemingly out of thin air. I couldn't believe my eyes, and I'd seen some seriously weird stuff over the years. But instead of the red-sneakers-blue-eyed-black-haired guy I'd presumed were there, I saw glowing green, snow white, and dark black.

Danny Phantom waved at us awkwardly, and I'm pretty sure my lower jaw hit the tiled bathroom floor. Annabeth looked the same, Nico being the only one who wasn't even vaguely surprised.

"Ehrm, hey guys... you don't mind that I dropped in for a bit, right?" Danny said at last, a nervous smile on his face.

* * *

"Lemme get this straight. So we met earlier at Danny's- my cousin Danny, that is- school, and you followed me back here? And then eavesdropped on my conversation with my girlfriend?" I asked, growing angrier and angrier by the second. We were still in the bathroom (gods know what the adults in the house thought we were doing in there); Danny sat in midair, hovering a few inches above the floor and slowly bobbing up and down. Nico was seated on the edge of the bathtub, Annabeth had inserted a few extra drachma to continue her call, and I was standing, pacing the floor.

Danny looked about as guilty as I'd ever seen anyone, but that didn't make up for it. Why the Hades was this freaking ghost so interested in me anyway?! No one said anything for a while.

"Listen, Percy. I'm sorry- really-" Danny started, but I turned my back.

"Just save it." The air was growing tense and my blood was boiling. I knew deep down that I shouldn't be this angry, but for some reason, I couldn't calm myself down.

"Percy, he's trying to apologize. Maybe you should-" Annabeth started. I wheeled around to face her image.

"And maybe _you _should stop trying to correct me all the time!" I was almost yelling now. Her face was red and her eyes narrowed, the once cloudy, soft gray now as tough as steel.

"Yeah, well then I should also just stop even trying to help!" She looked hurt. "I'm glad you aren't at Camp right now- just stay where you are." Without another word, she slashed through the Mist and ended the message. I was to angry to even care.

"Fine! Maybe I will!" I yelled to the place where her IM had disappeared.

Still fuming, I didn't even look at the two half-dead kids in the room as I threw open the door. I was just about to slam it when I heard a hysterical laugh. It was way too female to be Danny or Nico (that is, if Nico ever laughed).

I automatically tensed. Odd disembodied voices meant nothing but trouble for a demigod (or a ghost, I supposed). As mad as I was at Danny, I wasn't about to abandon my comrades in a fight.

I turned to see a shimmer out the bathroom window. A woman-esque figure, grinning from ear to ear, appeared. She looked as if she bathed in flames instead of water- covered in shades of red and orange. Her hair flickered like flames itself, and I could feel the air becoming hotter and tenser around her.

"Why the Hades are you freaking following me? Who even are you?!" I said through clenched teeth, already fingering my pen in my pocket. My hand trembled and the shower turned on, water gushing out. Everyone, myself included, stared as more and more liquid streamed out. I hadn't loss control of my powers like that since I was almost twelve.

My emotions were still raging. I tried to take a deep breath so I could turn the water back off, but it just wouldn't happen. My mind was so enraged that I couldn't even calm enough to focus, so I had to turn off the water by actually turning the handle. The fact that something as simple as controlling a small stream of water, something I'd done millions of times before, scared me more than I'd like to admit. This was the same feeling, I realized, that I'd felt in Danny's cafeteria when I was mad at Dash. My powers had been out of control then, too.

The demon only smiled in return. "I am Lyssa," she said, her voice raspy.

"I don't care who you are. Get the hell away from my- erm, this- house! Danny yelled. His eyes blazed with a green fury I hadn't seen before- not even when we were fighting the owl monster. His hands were glowing eerily, as if he was visibly restraining himself from shooting everyone with his ghost-ray-thingy.

"It was honestly stupid for you to come here. Do you really think that you could hold your own against two Big Three half-bloods and a ghost? Damn pathetic," Nico practically spat, twisting his ring and tapping his foot angrily. All the shadows in the room were distorting, some even leaping towards him.

Nico looked at them in surprise- he obviously hadn't tried to make the shadows appear. When I glanced back at Danny, various parts of his body were turning invisible and re-visible at random: a leg, and ear, a finger. And they both looked about as pissed off as I felt.

I'd only been this unnecessarily angry one other time- in a diner eating cheeseburgers with my annoying cousin. Ares was able to make my emotions rage with a single look. Could this monster do that too? Meanwhile, Lyssa just laughed maniacally, fully climbing through the window and standing in front of us.

"Lyssa... where have I heard that before?" I muttered to Nico under my breath.

"Goddess of anger, rage, and frenzy," he replied. _Well no wonder_ I thought, looking at the crazed fiery woman ahead of me. I uncapped Riptide and braced myself. Fighting the goddess of frenzy was not going to be easy. Nico and Danny did the same.

Together, we charged.

**Does this chapter make up for it a teeny bit? What about the fact that now you guys get a Percabeth forgiveness scene? ****I'm actually getting to the plot- no more fillers from here on out (yay!). **

**Lots of dialogue in this one- is that okay, or do you guys want more description and stuff? And was the fluff good (I'm not a sappy person, so romance is kinda difficult for me to write). I need feedback please! Thanks for reading!**


	19. Chapter 18

To say that Danny was confused would have been the understatement of the millennia. First, there was the whole thing with the mist-message. What the hell was that? Some kind of magic? And then there was the fact that Percy was behind it- if every person even vaguely related to Danny as odd as the people he'd met so far, Danny was pretty damn sure he didn't want to meet any of his other relatives. Ever. He could only imagine the possibilities- what was next, a wizard fresh out of Hogwarts?

And Nico- gods, that kid was freaking creepy. Just how, exactly, he knew Danny was in there- when Danny was _invisible_, no less- the halfa had no idea.

They seemed so used to the constant monster stream, too. Of course, Danny was used to it (that goddamn Box Ghost attacking every other minute...), but why should these "normal" kids be so... so...?

He couldn't think of the word. And he wasn't even about to get started on the monster. He didn't know if it was her aura or some kind of power or what, but just being near her made Danny pissed- angry that his cousins were keeping secrets from him (honestly, he couldn't really talk, but still), angry that Lyssa had freaking stalked him at school (he could only assume that that was the cause of the whole event earlier), angry that of course the ghost had to attack here and now of all places and times, and, most of all, angry that her powers were getting to him and making him angry in the first place.

At least the other two seemed to be feeling the same. That fire Danny had seen in Percy's eyes back in the cafeteria had returned tenfold, and Nico looked like he was about ready to run his black blade through man and monster alike. The shadows in the room writhed in some sort of haunting dance, and for some reason, the shower and sink were turning on and off at random intervals. If Lyssa could control all this, she was one of the most powerful ghosts Danny had ever faced- not good. Not good at all.

He looked back at the demon ghost, realizing just how scary she looked in the first place. She was bathed entirely in flames, her long "dress" and made of opaque tendrils of fire that fanned out at her feet, making a huge skirt. She had long flames for hair that whipped around her like a protective mane. He couldn't tell if her skin and hair were truly the color of flame, or if they just looked that way because of the whole fire-aura thing. She smiled evilly, her eyes flamey yellow with red snake-like pupils and rows of sharp white teeth (the only distinct color on her body) resembling those of a great white shark. As if it couldn't get any worse, sharp claw-like daggers extended from where her fingernails should be. There was a certain air of madness about her that automatically made Danny want to take a step back.

He looked down to see his clenched fists, and then they were gone for about five seconds before reappearing once again as if nothing had happened. It was just like when he'd first received his powers- his anger was making him lose all control.

He mentally berated himself- calm down, take a deep breath, you're playing right into her hands. He closed his eyes and could almost imagine himself at peace. When he opened them a moment later, the invisibility and other powers were back under control- for now. he exchanged hardened glances with Nico- he was starting to get the feeling that both odd boys' help was going to be really useful. Percy gave a slight nod, basically jerking his chin downwards; he never broke eye contact with the smiling demon he was facing.

Danny's hands flared, pulsing with echo-energy. Percy and Nico readied their swords (again with the swords- Danny wasn't even going to start on that right now). If possible, Lyssa's grin grew even wider.

"Prepare to die," she laughed.

"Uh, yeah. That's going to happen," Nico scoffed, sounding perfectly at ease with the prospect of death. The ghost's yellow eyes narrowed to slits of reddish-orange hellfire.

No plans were made- in fact, not a word had been exchanged between the somewhat unlikely trio. But, as if they'd been practicing it their whole lives, they attacked in perfect unison.

Danny only hoped it would be enough.

* * *

Danny thought that he had seen Percy fight well back in the auditorium, but (it was becoming a regular occurrence), Danny was completely and utterly wrong. Right now, Danny was pretty sure Percy could beat Chuck Norris, Voldemort, Bruce Lee, and Firelord Ozai singlehandedly without breaking a sweat. The sword was virtually an extension of his arm, and he struck hard and fast. Not for the first time, Danny was sure as hell glad Percy wasn't his enemy. Had it been Percy v. Danny instead... he didn't want to think about the results.

Nico wasn't half bad, either, and Danny was fighting pretty damn hard as well. They were landing pretty good blows with the swords, and though ectoblasts didn't affect Lyssa for some reason (Danny'd already filed that under "to be questioned later", an ever-growing mental list), he was kicking and punching with all his might.

Not that Lyssa was an easy opponent, however. She slashed and bit and blasted fire at each of the three boys. The tendrils in her hair acted as if they had a mind of their own, lashing out to stop impending attacks. Still, with three on one, Danny was pretty sure they had the advantage.

At least, that is, until Lyssa's claws slashed across Percy Jackson's neck.

Danny closed his eyes, cringing- in all his years of ghost fighting, he'd never really come across something as gory as... But all he heard was a rough laugh (he couldn't exactly place the voice) and more clanging of swords. He didn't have that much experience with this sort of thing, but Danny was pretty sure that he would have screamed bloody murder had his head been, uh, removed as such.

He opened his eyes just in time to see those same claws coming towards his own throat. He was a goner for sure.

_CLANG!_ A loud sound of metal meeting metal- Lyssa's claws and a bronze blade.

"Dude, what the Hades? I'm not saving your sorry podex again." There was Percy Jackson, looking perfectly non-beheaded (if a lot annoyed). He spoke through gritted teeth, more _at_ Danny than _to_ him. It was almost as if to Percy, Danny was but a nuisance- like Percy could do it all by himself, and Danny should just get out of the way. In the words of Skulker, this did not bode well. Hades and pod-poe-whatever weren't even proper curses, anyway.

"Yeah, thanks. But I can handle myself," he replied cooly. Percy took his eyes off of the monster for just enough time to send a terrifying glare in Danny's direction.

"Danny, snap out of it. She's just trying to pit us against each other. We've gotta work together- I save you, you save me..." He trailed off a bit, looking a bit conflicted. "...o, uh, Nico- we can help out Nico. Now can you please help me _kill this freaking thing?_" Danny blinked. Percy's arms were starting to tremble from holding off Lyssa- the pressure on the blade was too much.

Danny concentrated all the anger he was feeling into a powerful kick, right to the ghost's jawline. There was an audible crack, and Lyssa was thrown onto her back on the floor. Nico wasted no time in stabbing his blade right into her exposed stomach. Percy quickly followed suit.

Stupid, stupid. Why the hell did he forget to bring a Fenton Thermos with him? But it seemed unnecessary, as Lyssa began to crumble into dust (just like that owl...).

"This is only the beginning, little demigods... My patron will kill you... for the wrongs you have done to her..." she hissed out. Danny breathed a sigh of relief. They'd done it. But it wasn't over.

Just before she disintegrated completely, the fiery tendrils of her hair lashed out once more. Percy and Nico used their seemingly inhuman reflexes to dodge, but Danny was too distracted.

The flame hit him like a whip, straight across the chest. He fell back in much the same manner as the now dead monster, but instead of his back, his head took the brunt of the fall.

The last things he remembered before blacking out were Percy's wide eyes, Nico's knowing smirk, and cold, icy blue rings washing over his body...

**Aaaaand there we go! Thanks for reading. **


	20. Chapter 19

**Ohmygods! She remembers how to update? **

**Let me say that you guys are the bestest readers ever. More than 40 reviews for a single chapter?! That is freaking ridiculous! I am literally about to faint. So thanks to everyone who has read, favorited/alerted, and reviewed. And on with the story!**

**This was Beta'd by TheCursedOne (my first published piece with a Beta- yay!), so thank you for looking over it!**

* * *

"Danny... hey, Danny... okay?... wake up...need...doctor?" Danny was pretty sure he knew what those words meant, but his brain felt like someone had mashed it into scrambled eggs.

He squeezed his eyes shut again before opening them slowly, blinking as the world spun around him. It looked like a fuzzy TV signal, but he could make out two faces- one closer to him, one farther away. The splotches of black, he was pretty sure, were hair.

He gave an intelligent response, probably something along the lines of, "Mmrrmrhtmmhhh?" It hurt to think too hard about what he'd just been asked, but if there was one word he knew to stay away from at all times (an instinct that, he presumed, was written into his DNA along with the ghost powers) was "doctor".

"Danny? You okay... hit on the head..."

"Yeah, m'fine. No... doctor..." Who had added an extra ten pounds to his tongue and lower jaw? It was a tedious effort just to shape them into words. There was a sound that Danny was pretty sure was a laugh.

"Okay, no doctor. I think you'll be fine." Danny understood the entire sentence- feeling pretty proud right about now.

At least his vision was clearing (finally). He could easily make out Percy standing beside him, and Nico looking on in concern a little ways away. Danny tried to push himself into a sitting position, making it after some difficulty and a little (or a lot) help from Percy.

The floor was surprisingly soft under him; he looked down to see that, somehow, he'd teleported to the couch in the living room. None of the adults were back yet- that was good. If any of them had found out Danny's secret...

Oh god. He turned his eyes to Percy, who looked concerned but still a little angry. It hit him harder than the knock he'd just recieved to the head.

Looks like he was going to have some explaining to do.

* * *

"So, um, what's up, guys?" Danny laughed nervously, hand on the back of his neck. He was still seated on the couch, and Nico was slouching on a chair beside it. Only Percy remained standing, arms crossed and looking irked.

"Not much. Percy saved our asses once again- namely _yours_- and you blacked out, so we dragged you over here." Danny was wondering what it took for this kid to truly show any emotion.

"Yeah, about that..." Where to begin on something like this?

"Were you really not planning on telling me and Nico that you're Danny Phantom? And Danny Fenton? How does that even-" Percy seemed more confused than angry at this point. Danny was lost for words. Nico came over and nudged him a little in the arm.

"Uh, Danny? This is the part where you say, 'I should start at the beginning...'"

* * *

"You guys've met my parents, right? Big-time inventors, ghost hunters, whatever. About two years ago, they made their craziest invention yet: the Fenton Portal. Apparently, it was supposed to look into an alternate ecto-dimension. They called it the Ghost Zone. Only problem was, it didn't work. They got super-depressed; quit working on the portal, stopped thinking of new inventions, even quit ghost hunting altogether for a while. So I decided to try and help them.

"I climbed in there and felt along the wall so I wouldn't fall or something. Turns out, the portal did work. My hand accidentally brushed the power button, there was a huge flash, and when I woke up..." Danny trailed off, not really knowing what to say now. Percy looked shocked, while Nico still held his poker face (or maybe it was just his regular face- Danny wasn't quite sure). "Now, Sam, Tucker, and I make sure that all the ghosts stay in the Ghost Zone- they and my sister, Jazz, are the only ones who know about me."

"No way. You're like that guy we read about in English last year- uh, Hide and Jackal or whatever. Except you don't kill everyone."

"You mean Jekyll and Hyde?"

"Yeah, that. I was zoned out most of that class- books were in English so I couldn't really read-" Percy stopped abruptly, sending a side glance at Nico and looking slightly guilty. Nico only rolled his eyes in response. Danny was getting the feeling that there was still something they weren't telling him...

"Anyway," Percy continued, "If you're, like, Danny and also Danny, why do you guys look so different? Was it something to do with those lights when you blacked out?"

"Yeah, sorta. I guess it is like Jekyll and Hyde in a way... it's probably easiest to show you."

"You sure? You're still kinda weak from your head's introduction with the floor," Nico snickered. Danny decided to take it as if he was showing real concern.

"I'll be fine, I do it all the time." He stood, catching his balance for a second, before letting the rings transform him once more.

He'd turned between Fenton and Phantom more times than he could count, of course, but doing so in front of others seemed... weird. He could only suppose that for two people as "regular" (though the definition was still in question) as Nico and Percy, seeing this was pretty damn weird as well.

Soon enough, he saw the familiar white boots and gloves on top of his black jumpsuit. Danny shot a grin at the two onlookers.

"No freaking way. Dude, that's ridiculous! Do you have like ghost powers and stuff?" Percy sounded like a four year-old talking about superheroes.

"Yeah. I can fly, turn invisible, and intangible- it means I can walk or fly through stuff," he added after seeing Percy's expression. "I have a freeze ray, and a ghostly wail that can destroy stuff and blast things away. And I have that ghost beam that you saw when we were fighting the ghost, though for some reason it didn't really seem to affect her..." Another silent conversation between Percy and Nico; this was really starting to get on Danny's last nerve. He placed his hands on his hips and transformed back into Danny Fenton.

"Okay, I'm not stupid. I know there's something you guys aren't telling me. Equivalent exchange-" he'd seen that on a TV show a while ago and liked the concept of it. "- I told you, now you tell me. From the beginning."

* * *

**(I was about to be lazy and stop it there, but I know how much you guys would hate me for that. Plus we need some more Percy POV- 'cuz I haven't written for him in a while.)**

Danny looked serious. I had seen that expression on many faces before- Annabeth, Rachel Dare, teachers, my mom. It was that "don't lie to me or try any of your crap I want answers and I want them now" face. Nico shrugged at me, which was probably the most affirmative sign I was going to get from him. I turned to Danny.

"Okay, this is going to sound crazy..."

"Try me." I probably would've said the exact same thing.

"Just don't say I didn't tell you so. 'Kay, did you ever study Greek mythology in school?" Danny's eyebrows twisted in confusion; definitely hadn't expected _that _change in topics.

"Um, yeah, a while ago. We read the _Odyssey_- you mean Zeus, Artemis, Herman-"

"Hermes," Nico interrupted.

"- yeah, Hermes. Like those guys?" Surprisingly, no blast of thunder.

"Yup, exactly. Do you remember the heroes Hercules and Theseus and Perseus?"

"Which 'Perseus the Hero'? The son of Zeus or the son of Pos- mphrgg." Like most people, Nico was unable to make his annoying little snide comments with a hand clapped over his mouth. I shot him a glare; his eyes widened in what I'm sure was supposed to be innocence.

"I've heard of Hercules," Danny replied tentatively, obviously confused as to why we were having this conversation. I was still trying to figure out exactly how to break it to him. I was used to telling unclaimed demigods about the whole half-blood thing, but this was different. I removed my hand from Nico's mouth and, taking the mature course of action, he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Well, Hercules was a son of Zeus- a demigod. Half-god, half-mortal. They're also called half-bloods."

"Great history lesson, but can we skip to the point?" Danny seemed a little agitated. He probably thought I was trying to distract him from the point.

"Honestly, Perce. You're starting to sound like Annabeth. Make it quick," Nico added.

"Okay, okay. There's a point, I promise. The Greek gods were real. So were all the heroes, the myths, yadda yadda. Of course, the gods were immortal. They continued to go around, uh... let's just say 'flirting' with mortals, and having kids. Demigods." I gave Danny a meaningful look. His eyes widened.

"No way. That's impossible..."

"So is being half-dead," I reminded him.

"So both you and Nico...?"

"Yeah. Death Breath is the son of Hades-" Nico gave a little wave, smirking like he still knew something we didn't.

"- god of the dead, right?" Danny still seemed suspicious, but I guess he was playing along.

"Well, the underworld, but yeah. And my dad is Poseidon, god of the sea. We get attacked by monsters- like your ghosts, only I don't think your ecto-thing works on them." Danny looked at both of us again. We probably didn't look very godly. I prayed that he would believe it. After another moment or so, his eyes lit up.

"Prove it."

**Thanks again for reading!**


	21. Chapter 20

**This chapter is just my "let's make Percy and Nico look like badasses" chapter; the actual plot will continue next chapter, but I had so much fun writing this! Thanks for reading!**

**This took me so long to write... I apologize. I am still looking for a Beta (or Betas) for this fic- please review or PM me if interested!**

**In just about everysinglestinking fanfic I've read where the demigods have to "explain" themselves (though there are definitely a lot of exceptions), it turns out either A) really stupid-sounding; B) really awkward-sounding; or C) both. I've tried really hard to make mine different, but please feel free to weigh in with your opinion!**

**Thanks so much to the guest reviewer who commented that Danny needs to get some attention, too. I definitely have that planned, don't worry :) his moment will come.**

* * *

_Danny looked at both of us again. We probably didn't look very godly. I prayed that he would believe it. After another moment or so, his eyes lit up._

_"Prove it."_

Percy grinned and shot a glance at Nico, who smirked almost sinisterly in reply. _I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that. _Oh god (or was it gods?), Danny was going to pay for this, wasn't he? But it was too late now.

"Okay, Death Breath, how do you suppose we go about this?" Percy asked, still smirking. Nico tilted his head as if weighing his options.

"How about you start, Mr. Hero of Olympus." Percy's face grew red.

"Um, what, now?" Danny interrupted. Percy glared at Nico again (Danny was getting the feeling that this was a regular occurrence).

"Uh, last summer I kinda..." the rest was mumbled.

"Come again?"

"He kinda-sorta saved the world from the evil Titan Lord," Nico supplied unhelpfully.

"Yeah, that." Percy muttered. "Pretty much sucked, actually. But Kronos is gone now- back in Tartarus." He seemed to brush the comment off, like he was obviously trying to avoid talking about it. Danny was momentarily speechless. His cousin had _saved the world_ last year? It made Danny's own job of protecting Amity Park seem insignificant in comparison.

"Anyway, my dad is Poseidon, god of the seas-"

"Are you, like, really good at surfing?" Danny couldn't help but ask. Percy laughed, shaking his head, while Nico blushed for some reason.

"I was nine, okay? Gimme a break."

"Yeah, yeah. I actually haven't ever been surfing. But I can breathe underwater, and I can control it, too."

"Control it? Like how?"

"Like this." Percy flashed a lopsided grin- Danny was coming to know it as his "about to cause trouble" face. Percy held out his hand as if using the force, and suddenly, a gush of water came flooding through the doors of the kitchen and into the family room. It floated in mid-air, hovering a bit before Percy twitched his fingers and the water hit Nico face-on (Nico's cusses being both wildly creative and extremely unprintable).

Danny bit back a laugh, knowing that this was going to turn bad- fast. Nico wiped off his face, eyes even darker and more dangerous-looking than before.

"You did not just-"

"What? Daddy's widdle errand boy afraid of some water?" Percy taunted, oblivious to the anger forming in Nico's face. Danny blinked, and the next instant, Nico had a sword pointed right at Percy's heart.

Danny's breath caught in his throat. They were cousins, right? On the same team and all. Nico wouldn't really-

"Ha ha, nice try." Percy seemed surprisingly calm for a guy on the brink of death.

"Godsdamn Styx." Nico cursed, thunder rumbling ominously in the background as if on cue. Danny didn't even get a word in before the banter started. It was like the whole incident with the sword was forgotten.

"And whose fault is that, again? Remind me."

"If it wasn't for me, your ass would've been clear to Hades at least a million times by now."

"Yeah, so you save my life and then turn me in to your dad. Real considerate on my behalf."

"Son of Hades- considerate isn't exactly part of the job description."

"Whatever." Percy looked around and seemed to register for the first time that most of Danny's living room was still dripping wet. He raised his hand again, and all the water lifted off the carpet, couch, and wherever else it had fallen before being guided down the kitchen drain by Percy.

"See, at least I can clean up after my messes. Chiron still hasn't been able to fix that stupid crack in the mess hall at Camp."

"I'm pretty sure you've caused your fair share of messes, Seaweed Brain. I talk to Annabeth, sometimes- she was actually telling me this _fascinating_ story about you, the Gateway Arch, and... what was it... 'torching one of the greatest architectural feats of the New World?'" _  
_

"That wasn't even my fault! Freaking Echidna and her flamethrower chihuahua attacked me!" Okay, Danny had had enough. Time to end this.

"What the hell are you guys talking about? Why is Percy sword-resistant, who is Annabeth, what's camp, and how the hell did you get attacked by an anteater at the Gateway Arch?!" Both Nico and Percy wheeled to face him; in the chaos of their bickering, they'd obviously forgotten the third member in the room.

"You want the simplified explanation or the confusing one?" Percy asked at last. Danny raised an eyebrow. "Um, swam in the Styx, got the Achilles curse that made me all but invincible. Annabeth's my girlfriend, daughter of Athena- you saw me talking to her in the bathroom." Danny decided to tack that question on at the end of the explanation.

"Camp Half-Blood is where demigods can go and get training on how to fend off monsters- it's the only safe place for demigods." Nico's eyes shifted to the ground a bit at that one. He was hiding something, even from Percy- that much was obvious. But Danny didn't want to pry. "As for the Gateway Arch thing... I was twelve, on my first quest with Annabeth and a satyr- half man, half goat- named Grover. We made a stop at the Arch 'cuz Annabeth's an architecture nerd. I mean, I can't really blame _her_... her mom's the goddess of wisdom, y'know?

"Where was I... oh yeah, so there was only room for one more in the elevator. I was stupid and decided to go alone. Basically, one of the ladies turned into a monster, her dog poisoned me and torched through the arch, and I had to jump down into the river below so I didn't, like, die or something. You should've seen her face when I called her an aardvark, though!" he finished brightly.

_He's got the attention span of a four-year-old_, Danny thought dryly. Was this really the guy who had saved the world? But then again, he'd seen Percy at Casper High, battling monsters, being sword-resistant, and finally controlling the water like that. Something finally clicked.

"Hey- that's why you were so good at the obstacle course. And then why that cooler fell over when you got pissed at Dash." Danny made the connection. Percy nodded, a little embarrassed.

"Usually I have more control than that, with the whole water cooler incident and all. It's just... every hero has a fatal flaw- something about them that, if not kept in check, could lead to their, well, let's just say downfall. Mine is personal loyalty: no one hurts the things I care about and gets away with it." He'd gone from hyperactive child to semi-philosophical in mere seconds... maybe it was a demigod thing.

Either way, Danny had a lot to learn.

* * *

"Okay, talking this much about myself is just... creepy. Nico! Get your half-dead ass over here!" Percy called. Danny looked up; he hadn't even noticed that Nico had vanished.

"Gods, Percy. Way to ruin the surprise." Nico's disembodied voice was as sarcastic as ever.

"Wha-?" Danny turned his head, searching for the source of the voice, but he didn't see Nico anywhere.

(In all honesty, he probably should've seen it coming.)

Hands extended from the shadows on the wall nearest to Danny, and the son of Hades literally stepped out of the wall, brushed himself off, yawned, and waved halfheartedly.

"Sorry, got a little bored... most demigods- like Percy here, in case you haven't picked up on it- are ADHD.. pretty sure I am too." Ah, it made sense now.

"So getting fidgety gives you a right to go shadow-traveling off to gods-know-where again? What if you got lost, like last time?" Nico waved the comment off with his hand.

"Yeah, yeah. I knew where I was this time, at least. Been there on another mission for my father. Stupid British accents... never fully able to understand what they're rattling on about. I mean, if they'd just give me an _actual name _rather than 'You-Know-Who' or whatever, I could go out, kick ass, and be done. But _noo_- uh, nevermind, actually. Story for another time. At least I got back here in time." Percy rolled his eyes, and Nico turned to face Danny.

"Okay, so I'm the son of Hades, ghost king, yadda yadda. Shadow-travel is kinda like teleporting, and I can summon the dead sometimes." He must've seen Danny's expression, because he sighed wearily.

"Nope, not kidding. I can show you after a nap, but first I'm going to need some food. Got any good burger joints around here?"

**Once again, very dialogue-heavy, and I apologize to those who don't like that sort of thing. I decided writing bickering dialogue is extremely fun :) Thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter 21

**Heh... there is no excuse... I've recieved so many freaking amazing reviews and just akjerntieuhwo sefohgsg. My thank yous extend to Tartarus and back (with a slight pit stop to rescue two extremely important demigods...)**

**If it makes it a bit better, I've tried to incorporate a lot of requests I've recieved from reviews (and I may have already PM'ed you saying I wouldn't... I lied), so I hope these are what you were looking for!**

**And to the guest reviewer who called me a moron for saying Danny has a water bed: I don't know if you were being sarcastic, but that wasn't very nice ;)**

* * *

"You can't be serious. The place you go to eat is called _Nasty Burger_? Man, it just sounds gross."

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it; they're not half-bad. Don't you have Nasty Burgers in New York? they seem to be a pretty big chain."

"Been all around the world and have never heard of any restaurant with a name like Nasty Burger. Are they trying to drive off customers?"

"It could be called 'Disease on a Bun' for all I care- I'm starving." Danny couldn't help but agree. They weren't even through the doors yet and the smell of something frying was already filling his nostrils.

They ordered (Nasty meal for Nico, much to his own chagrin; double cheeseburger and Cherry Coke for Percy; a normal burger with fries for Danny) and sat down at Danny's usual booth.

Danny was about halfway through his meal when the doors burst open again, and Danny couldn't help but groan.

Football practice must've just ended, because Dash, Kwan, Paulina, Star, and a whole bunch of other miscellaneous groupies flocked into the Nasty Burger and immediately went about claiming the majority of the remaining booths in the restaurant. _Please don't come over, please don't come over._ Danny was more afraid of what Percy might do to Dash than what Dash might do to them.

Luckily, they didn't seem to be noticing him for now. That is, until Paulina saw something- moreover, someone- in the background of the picture (of herself) she'd been taking.

Immediately, she was on top of her table like she'd been glued there. Star was fangirling from a safe distance.

"Hey there, cutie. What's your name again?" she flipped her hair with a practiced motion of her hand. _Toss-toss!_

"Uh, Percy. And you are...?" Her laugh was high-pitched and super-sugar-coated.

"I'm Paulina, silly! Don't pretend like you didn't notice me earlier!"

"Um, listen, I have a girlfriend-"

"Oh, it's okay," she practically purred as she started to run her fingers through his hair. "She doesn't need to know." Percy shot Danny a look of sheer desperation; Danny merely shrugged in surrender.

Meanwhile, Dash looked up to realize that his so-called "main ladies" were missing. Nasty Burger being a small restaurant, it didn't take him long to pinpoint where Paulina and Star had relocated.

"Hey Fen-Tinkerbell! What'cha up to? Find a new band of freaks to hang out with? Trying to steal my ladies?" Their booth was surrounded.

Danny was starting to think that this so-called "Demigod luck" (or lack thereof) was starting to rub off on him.

"Yeah right, she cam and practically glued herself to us," Percy muttered around Paulina, who was sitting on his lap.

"Grow up, Dash, unless you wanna see Percy here kick your ass again like he did earlier." Danny shot him a _not-taking-your-shit_ glare. Fear flashed across the bully's face for the briefest instant before he covered it with arrogance.

"Yeah, right. Like you and these two wimps could ever take on me and my guys for real!"

"We don't want a fight. Just go away, dumbass." Damn, Nico had really done it now. Dash's face turned beet red and he wound up his fist, ready to punch.

"Why you little-"

"Don't you dare!" A girl's voice broke through the growing ruckus. Percy turned his head wildly, and Nico looked more scared than Danny had ever seen before.

"Yeah! And get the Hades away from my boyfriend!" A second voice. Percy's face broke into a huge smile.

The mass of football players cleared to reveal two girls: a tan girl with blonde curly hair and a girl with black spiky hair and a leather jacket. Both looked relatively murderous.

"Oh, gods," Nico murmured just loud enough for Danny to hear.

"Found some backup, didya, Fen-Tampon? Too bad I won't hit a girl."

"You better take that one back, asshole," spiky-haired girl said as she grabbed Dash by the shirt. He jerked as if he'd been tasered, and the lights flickered for the briefest instant. Danny could feel the hair rise on his head, like he'd recieved an electric shock. But how-?

"Whatever, I don't have time to waste on men, especially idiots like you,' she commented. As soon as she released Dash back onto the floor, Danny felt the air go back to normal.

If these girls were who- or what- Danny was beginning to suspect they were, they were all in for a shiltload of trouble.

**Thanks for reading!**


	23. Chapter 22

**_Hey, anime and/or MLP:FiM fans of the interwebs!_ **

**I need your help. Long story short, if you had to assign an anime character to each element of harmony, who would it be?**

**Include your answer in a review, or PM me- even if you only have one or two characters in mind. Character name and anime title please! Thanks!**

* * *

Up close, Danny realized that the girl with the black hair looked a lot like he himself did. Bright blue eyes and messy black hair, not tall but not short. She looked younger- fifteen, maybe?- and had freckles, but she actually looked a lot like Danny himself. Her personality was definitely different, though; that much was obvious. She was dressed in black and silver (was that a tiara?), had spiky, almost punk-style hair, and obviously had no problem standing up to guys like Dash.

Her friend looked just as murderous, but was physically very different: just a little bit older, with curly blonde hair and tan skin. She was dressed in more typical summer clothing- running shorts and a T-shirt that he couldn't read from where he was located.

As punk girl threatened Dash, clinging tight to his shirt with no apparent intention of releasing him, blondie whirled around, her very scary-looking gray eyes scanning the entire restaurant. They narrowed when they met Danny's wide ones, but, obviously disinterested, kept roving until they saw who was behind him.

She was in motion before Danny had even registered her reaction, and in the blink of an eye she was holding Paulina in the same grip as punk girl and Dash. Pulling Paulina off of Percy's lap, the girl's eyes were snake-like slits of fury.

"Don't even think about it." Paulina stumbled backwards and fell on the dirty restaurant floor as she was released without warning. Wailing about a broken nail, she ran out of the Nasty Burger, Star in tow.

By that point, everyone who wasn't being held to the spot had cleared out, fearing for their lives. Danny had to admit that he didn't blame them. The girl watched, rolling her eyes as Paulina tried to run in her heels.

"...Annie?" Her blonde ponytail flew as her head spun yet again.

"Perseus Jackson, I swear to the gods above I am so going to-" She was cut off by Percy's arms, wrapped around her waist.

"I missed you, Wise Girl." Danny noted that Annie looked much prettier (and _much _less scary) when she was beaming like that. He realized that this was the girl from the Mist message- Percy's girlfriend.

"It's Annabeth, dummy."

"Yeah, I know." Their faces drew closer together as if pulled by an invisible force and their lips almost touched as-

_Cough. Cough. _

Danny noted in addition that Nico's fake coughing needed some work. And his timing.

"Okay, break it up, break it up. You guys'll have plenty of time to get all kissy and sloppy later." Both of their faces turned tomato red.

"Oi, you loafers over there! Do I have to take out this brute by myself?" punk girl called over.

"I'm sure that would make you happy, wouldn't it, Pinecone Face?" Percy replied snidely.

"C'mon, Thals, let him go. I think you've scared the guy into submission anyway." 'Thals' snorted and dropped Dash to the floor.

"You're one to talk," Nico muttered to the girl Danny now knew as Annabeth, obviously talking about what she'd done to Paulina.

"You mess with my cousins again and you'll _really _get it," punk said flippantly, turning heel and striding over to where Danny and everyone else was.

"Think it's too late to ask them for a burger? I'm starved."

* * *

"Wait, so even your so-called 'normal' side of the family is weird? Gods, Percy, what the Hades did you do to piss Fate off?"

"I've asked myself the same question," Percy replied with mock seriousness.

"Gods, both of you. Can we focus for just a second here?" Annabeth looked exasperated, turning to Danny. "So you're trying to tell me that you're half-ghost? Honest to gods?"

"Yup, that's me. Weird even by half-god standards," Danny muttered. Even Annabeth cracked a smile at that one.

"That's funny, you sound like Percy."

"He is my cousin, after all." Percy cut in.

"Your cousin that you didn't even know existed until a few days ago."

"And you didn't know that I was your cousin until you were what- eighty?"

"Eighty-two," Nico corrected.

"Wh-?"

"Long story," came the unanimous reply. Danny wasn't even going to bother.

"Wait, so Percy's a son of Poseidon; Nico is a son of Hades; and you two are...?"

"Daughter of Zeus, Lieutenant Hunter of Artemis," Thalia said lazily, like she said that to people all the time.

"And I'm a daughter of Athena." That one Danny could definitely see.

"Hunter of Artemis?"

"Immortal teenage girl group that goes around, well, _hunting_ stuff," Nico explained offhandedly. Wait, _immortal_?As in...

"As in not dying, yeah." Thalia seemed to have read his mind (or maybe his facial expression).

"So if you-"

"We can discuss Thalia and her inability to die later. First, we have to figure out what's going on here."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, suddenly serious. As Danny looked around, he noticed that all of them seemed ready to strike at any second.

"We aren't just here on vacation, Kelp Head," Thalia said. Annabeth nodded.

"There's something weird happening in this city, and we need to stop it."

* * *

**So I've been doing this thing where I post a chapter and then, like, disappear off the face of the Internet for months at a time. And I really wish I had more time, but until life stops interfering with my plans, this is how it's gonna be until summer, or until I get hit with a Zeus-master-bolt-sized stroke of motivation and innovation.**

**(Also known as AP classes suck.) **

**Please bear with me, and thank you for all the reviews and support that makes me sit down and write! The reason I'm finishing this story is because of the amazing people who read and review it! **

**And to a guest review: Danny is not, and will not be (in my story, at least), a demigod or Legacy or in any way related to the gods except through Percy. Sorry if that disappoints you, but I like to stick with relatively canon characterizations. Thanks!**

* * *

**EXTRA:**

"Percy? Annabeth? Dinner's ready- my parents are really excited to meet you, Annabeth. Where are you guys?" Danny had already looked in his room, the lab, outside, even Jazz's room- they were nowhere to be found.

Only one room in the house was still unchecked, Danny realized. He put his ear to the door, hearing a few muffled noises. They obviously didn't hear him knocking, so he entered without thinking...

Lips locked, fingers running through hair, his arm around her waist. Way too realistic to be a fakeout makeout...

"Am I forgiven, then?" They were both breathing heavily, eyes locked on each other.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain. I forgive you." She hooked her arms around the back of his neck. Neither of them showed any notice to his turning invisible and intangible before he creeped back into the hallway.

...

"Um, I think they're busy. We can go ahead and eat, though." He honestly had no idea how he got away with the whole "part time ghost-ass-kicking superhero" thing, seeing how bad a liar he was.

Percy's mom had a knowing twinkle in her eye, and Danny watched as Nico made awful-looking kissy faces across the table at Thalia, who was practically trembling with laughter.

"That's fine, they can fix themselves some leftovers later when they're finished." Danny's mom looked perfectly content, sitting down and telling everyone to dig in.

"I think they may take a while, Mrs. Fenton. They can just eat in the morning," Thalia said sweetly.

"A _looong _while," Nico snickered, mimicking another barfing gesture. They both tucked into their meals quietly, probably accustomed to whatever their cousin and his girlfriend were up to.

...

"Danny, honey, are you okay? You haven't touched your dinner."

"It's nothing, I just... uh, I'm not hungry." More like lost his appetite. Thalia choked a little on the water she was drinking.

...

"Morning, everyone. I'm starved- did anyone make breakfast yet?" Percy walked in, stretching, brushing his shaggy hair out of his eyes. He meandered around the kitchen aimlessly: nodding good morning to Danny, who was sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal; opening cabinets and closing them without taking anything out; pulling out a chair but not actually sitting down.

To be honest, he still looked half-asleep- a typical morning for the son of Poseidon, as Danny had found out the past few days. Had Danny not seen what Percy was, erm, "up to" last night with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that anything was different about his cousin. Percy yawned again, stretched, and scratched at his neck, finally deciding on one of the blueberry muffins sitting on the counter before sitting down next to Danny.

"So..." Danny didn't exactly know what to say at this point, opting instead to just take another bite of cereal and to finish his sentence.

"Did your mom make these muffins? They're good," Percy commented offhandedly, his mouth full of aforementioned food. He shifted in his chair a bit, and Danny saw it. That reddish-pink mark on Percy's neck that looked like a bruise, except Danny knew what it _actually _was.

...

Annabeth came down a couple of minutes later, and Danny noticed that, if only for a few days, their matching grey hair streaks weren't the only physical trait the two shared.

**I promised a Percabeth reunion/make-up scene a few chapters back... I'll leave this one up to your imaginations, sort of... **


End file.
